Interwoven
by The Moonstar9
Summary: District 13 hovercraft crashes. Katniss and Finnick are the only survivors. They seek refuge in Katniss's old house that is surprisingly untouched in District 12. Hurt, afraid, and lost, Katniss and Finnick have no one but each other to depend on and they begin to discover more about each other as they try to build a life in the ruins of the district. [Full plot inside]
1. Breathe

**Interwoven**

**Full Plot**: After being rescued from the arena, the hovercraft heading to District 13 crashes leaving Katniss and Finnick as the only survivors. Having no idea where their original destination is located, they stumble across the ruins of District 12. Devastated and afraid, Katniss tries to pull herself together with the help of Finnick. They seek refuge in Katniss's old house that is surprisingly untouched. Hurt, afraid, and lost, Katniss and Finnick have no one but each other to depend on and they begin to discover more about one another as they try to build a life in the ruins of the district. Though as pleasant as things may seem at first, their lives are interrupted by certain enemies…

**Genre**: Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Tragedy

**Author's Note**: This basically takes place right at the end of Catching Fire, except Gale doesn't have time to tell Katniss about District 12's destruction. This is a romance story between Katniss and Finnick but it'll be friendship first. I'm not going to rush their relationship, but know that they will start to develop deep feelings for each other in the future. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Breathe**

**Theme Song: **Dawn by the Cinematic Orchestra ─ [_Pull it up on YouTube and listen to it as you read. Adds more effect to the story. Start listening after the flashback is over.]_

**~Finnick~**

Smoke and toxic fumes fill the air, mixing in with the atmosphere, and continuously floating about around, heading upward. These noxious vapors fold through the whole area, soaring from the waves of fire that still lingers steadily on piles of rubble. Fortunately the fire doesn't spread any further amongst the forest; it only stays burning slightly on a few of parts of the broken pieces of the hovercraft. Fragments are scattered about everywhere, in one place and in another, in big or small clumps. Somehow a few pieces managed to attach itself to a tree and dangle there loosely. Seats from where passengers used to sit at are spread out everywhere, having broken off during the crash.

Most of the seats hold passengers who are bleeding heavily and are no longer breathing. One of them, who is only hurt slightly, manages to open his eyes slightly. The smoke burns his eyeballs when they touch them and they begin to tear up. He has to blink his eyelids a few times to adjust to the atmosphere around him. Somehow his seat managed to stay secure, unlike most of the other passengers who had either fallen out of their seats or were destroyed in the crash. The bronze haired male takes one look at his surroundings and feels like a black hole opened up within his stomach, pulling him under the depths of darkness.

Crash landed, he realizes.

His head begins to throb in pain as he recalls the events that took place before the incident.

[**Flashback**]

_Finnick is standing with a blanket wrapped over his shoulders. A large table platform is set in front of him as he and few others stand surrounding it. A plate of food and a cup of coffee is set on the table near him, left untouched. There's a map of some important information of the Districts forming a square part of the table that they all peer at curiously._

"_Tell me…" Finnick murmurs, finally deciding to lift his coffee cup. It's less warm than it was a few moments ago. "Why can't we get Annie now before we head to District 13?"_

_Haymitch rolls his eyes at the question. "I told you already," he says, "we can't risk flying all the way down to District 4 and picking her up without drawing attention to ourselves. It's a trip we simply can't take. We have more important business to take care of in Thirteen."_

_Finnick stares at the black liquid in his cup. He can see his expression slightly, shimmering in the fluid. His hair is still damp from that quick wash he had earlier and he can still smell the scent of lemon soap radiating from his body. Secured and fixed on the outside, but broken and destroyed on the inside. "She's not in District 4, is she?" his words are more like a statement than a question. _

_He can tell that Plutarch and Haymitch are exchanging looks without having to see them. _

"_No," says Plutarch quietly. "The Capitol picked her up when they found out about us retrieving the tributes from the arena. They have Peeta Mellark as well."_

_Finnick studies the map on the table, closely, having no interest in what lays out before him in the least. Then he looks up at Haymitch's tired expression. "What are they going to do to her? Shouldn't we go get her before they try anything?" he asks, keeping his calm. Inside, he was panicking, as thoughts roamed his mind about the Capitol torturing or killing Annie._

_Plutarch answers for him, "It's simply impossible for us to get her," he says. "It'd be dangerous and the mission was to get Katniss Everdeen to District 13 as soon as possible," he rubs his eyes with a napkin, before returning his gaze to Finnick. "Remember the deal we made? You agreed to help with this mission and this mission is long from over. We'll get Annie for you, mister Odair, but we just can't do it now."_

_Finnick sets his coffee cup down, without drinking any, now starting to lose his composure. "Yes, I understand that, but we─" his shouts are cut short when the door to the facility room opens. All of their attention turns to the person standing in the doorway. Standing there is Katniss Everdeen, looking beat and tired in her jumpsuit. Her arm is bandaged up from when Johanna cut out the tracker. In her hand, is a syringe, and her expression isn't at all pleasant._

_When she sees all of them, here, looking calm and collected, her expression hardens. Then her eyes land on Haymitch. "Finally decided to get up now, sweetheart? Done trying to kill yourself?" he says sarcastically. He might be referring to when he witnessed Katniss knocking herself out multiple times earlier. _

_Finnick can see her sides heaving in anger but her expression is filled with confusion. "Where are we? What's going on? Where's Peeta?" she demands, looking at all of us. When her eyes land on Finnick, he looks away. He doesn't want to be the damper on bad news._

_Finnick pretty much stops listening when Haymitch and Plutarch begin to tell her of the situation. He walks toward the long window with his hands behind his head, stressfully. Their voices become muffled in his ears as his mind drifts off to Annie. It's dim outside, with clouds covering the sky. The hovercraft seems to be high above the ground to the point where he can't make out what their flying over. Annie was never safe. He couldn't be there for her. Somehow, someway he has to get her back and it has to be soon. These idiots, Haymitch and Plutarch, aren't being cooperative enough for him and it's driving him crazy. They don't understand how much this is tearing him apart inside._

_When Finnick turns back around, he sees that Katniss is sitting down in a chair while quivering a bit. Plutarch just informed her of their whereabouts and the plan to pull her out of the arena._

"_You didn't tell me. None of you," she snaps._

"_We couldn't risk it," Haymitch says, looking stressed out._

_Plutarch urges Katniss to eat the food he's handing to her but she just shakes her head at him. "Where's Peeta?" she demands._

This won't be good_. Finnick thinks, folding his hands behind his head again in tiredness. She won't take this well._

"_Katniss…the Capitol has Peeta." Plutarch murmurs, as he sets the plate down onto the table._

_Then in an instant, Katniss is up on her feet and she's attacking Haymitch, threatening to kill him while trying to stab him with the syringe. Immediately, Finnick hurries over to grab her. With the help of Plutarch they are able to pry her away but she manages to get a few scratches on Haymitch's face. They struggle to push her down onto the chair and Finnick manages to hold her there as she struggles to get free. "You promised and you lied to me!" she shouts at Haymitch._

"_Calm down!" Finnick grunts, as she scratches his arm with her nails. His grip doesn't falter though. After a few seconds, she starts to calm down some, but he still keeps a firm grip on her. It's understandable, the way she's acting. He knows the feeling. Her breathing is still heavy and she's pointing death glares at Haymitch. Before her mentor can even get a word in to explain himself, the hovercraft begins to rumble quickly. Finnick is hardly able to keep his balance. "What's going on?" he demands, staring expectantly at Plutarch._

_Plutarch looks as confused as he is, as he grips onto the table to keep himself from falling. With a grunt, Finnick releases Katniss, and moves over to the window, stumbling on the way there. In horror, he sees that the back of the hovercraft is lit with flames. Haymitch is beside him in an instant and frowns when he sees what he sees. _

"_Everyone, get to your seats and buckle up!" exclaims Plutarch. _

_Everyone is piling out of the room, even Katniss, in single file. There's a sound of an emergency beeping that's warning them of the damage of the hovercraft. A voice on a loud speaker says for everyone to buckle up and that we'll be crash landing. They all make it to the room where the seats are held and waste no time in buckling themselves up. Finnick had no idea there were so many people on this hovercraft as he watches many of them begin to file in, in a crowd. Somehow he's sitting next to Katniss. Her hands are fumbling with her belt as she tries to fasten it, her eyes panicky. Finnick whips off his belt and gets up to help her. When her belt is safely secured, she shoots him a weak grateful look, and he belts himself back in. _

_The hovercraft is shaking without control now, going through major turbulence. Finnick shuts his eyes, feeling Katniss gripping his hand. She must want someone to hold onto because she would never voluntarily touch him. Finnick interweaves his fingers with hers. They squeeze each other's hands tightly as the hovercraft rocks and tumbles. He keeps his head firmly butted against the back of his seat, keeping his eyes clenched tightly shut._

This is it. This is how we die._ Finnick thinks. _I love you, Annie_._

_Then __**bang**__… _

_Everything goes black. _

[**End of Flashback**] [_Listen to Dawn by the Cinematic Orchestra now for more effect_]

The harsh memory brings pain to Finnick's head. He places a firm palm on his head and holds there for a few short seconds. A moment ago Katniss was sitting next to him, holding his hand, but she's no longer there anymore. No one is no longer around him, no longer in their seats. Somehow most of the seats had broken off and turned over during the crash. His seat miraculously stayed together and he's slightly unharmed, except for the few scratches along his arms and face. Looking at the damage that was done, he wonders how he is even alive. And had anyone else survived?

Weakly, his hands try to find the belt buckle. His hands are shaking uncontrollably, which reminds him of when Katniss had trouble fastening her own belt. He grips the fabric on his pants legs for a moment to stop them from shaking and shuts his eyes. His breathing has increased without his consent. _Don't think about it. Relax._ He keeps telling himself until his breathing subsides a little. Now finally he's able to gain control of his quivering fingers a bit, as he begins to unbuckle his seatbelt. He braces himself for the fall. His shoes hit the ground roughly and he nearly twists his ankle when he lands awkwardly. Upon regaining his balance, he steps over the pile of debris that the hovercraft left behind. He stumbles onto flat ground, managing to get past broken parts, and glances around.

The entire hovercraft is utterly destroyed. Fragments of it, large and small, are spread out along the area and a few parts are still burning with fire. Fortunately nothing else catches and the fire doesn't hungrily take over the forest that surrounds this area. Finnick inhales sharply, only to allow a stinging scent of smoke to enter his nostrils. He coughs without sense as he falls to his hands and knees. The soil seeps in between his fingers as he curls his hands into fists. He tries to control his breathing. How did this happen? He remembers seeing the back of the hovercraft on fire right before the crash but there's no explanation as to how that happened. All he can see is that, the fuel engine must've burnt out causing the hovercraft to catch on fire. Still this wasn't right. This wasn't _supposed_ to happen.

Finnick lets out a raspy breath when he sees a mangled body crushed under a large pile of fragments from the hovercraft. This person is unrecognizable with blood covering their disoriented face and limbs folded in odd angles. Bile rises in Finnick's throat and threatens to push itself out. He clenches his mouth shut as he forces the vomit back down, tearing his gaze away from the sight. To his misfortune, he's now starting to see more and more bodies each way he turns. A body hanging loosely from a tree still strapped to their seat; another pierced in the heart by a large object; another folded in their seat, smashed between two heavy parts. Then it's all too much and Finnick gets up, backing away, only to stumble backward, tripping over something.

As he climbs back to his feet, he thinks, _everybody's dead. They're all gone. All of them_. He presses the back of his hand to his mouth, holding in more vomit. He swallows it back down hard. Just a while ago, he was speaking to Plutarch and Haymitch about Annie's whereabouts and now there's nothing of either of them left. He's pretty sure one of those bodies belong to them but he doesn't bother to stare long enough to get a good description of them. There are no other survivors. He's the only one left, far as he knows. Then a string of hope flares within him when he hears a muffled voice a few feet away from him. He quickly moves forward, leaping over a large item. Then he sees someone, lying flat on their back, with a long object projecting from his upper belly.

Haymitch.

Finnick kneels down in front of the District 12 victor. He looks him over. The man has lost a lot of blood from his wound. It'd instantly kill him if Finnick tried to remove the object protruding from his stomach. With a shaky hand, Finnick grasps onto Haymitch's tightly as the man gags below him. Now Finnick regrets all of the horrible thoughts he had about him. _Idiot. Stupid, drunk-tard. Drunken bastard_. All those insults that Finnick shot at him, are all wrapping around his mind, tormenting him nonstop.

Haymitch rasps, trying to speak. Finnick leans toward him to try and make out what he's saying. "K-keep…her…alive…." he says weakly. Finnick moves away. Doesn't he know that there's no possibility that Katniss is alive in the first place? He just nods his head anyway as the man lets out his last dying breath. His chest slows gradually until it becomes utterly still, his eyes frozen, staring up at the sky.

Finnick releases Haymitch's bloody hand and closes the man's eyelids, before pulling himself to his feet.

As if on cue, Finnick hears someone break out in coughing. He whips his head around to see none other than Katniss Everdeen holding her stomach as she coughs crazily. Other than the few scratches on her arms and legs, she seems unharmed. When she sees Finnick, she stumbles toward him. He meets her halfway, making sure to block Haymitch's body from her view. He doesn't want her to see her dead mentor or she'll freak out.

When she finally stops coughing, she manages to rasp out, "Haymitch?"

A simple shake of Finnick's head is enough for Katniss to breakdown. Finnick catches her with his arms before she can sink to the ground. He pulls her up against him, holding her tightly, one hand behind her head and the other around her waist, as she weeps in his chest.

To Finnick, it feels like the whole world has come crumbling down. The smoke in the air, the damaged that was done; makes it appear that everything has ended. They were supposed to be heading to District 13 but that didn't happen. They crashed, leaving only two survivors. Only _two_ survivors. As if the realization hits Finnick for the first time, his eyes begin to water slightly. Not sure if it's because he's not the only survivor or _because_ everyone else is dead. He won't let his tears fall. He won't let Katniss see him cry. He won't let her see that he's as broken as much as she is.

She lost her mentor, as did he. Mags was lost long ago during the games. Haymitch is gone now. Finnick squeezes Katniss tighter as she starts to shake without control. They're going to get out of here, one way or the other. They're going to get help before they lose themselves. He'll make sure of it.

**~Katniss~**

It's dark now. If it weren't for the full moon tonight, neither of them would be able to see their own shoes. The jumpsuit is tight on Katniss's body and it doesn't really give her enough warmth in this cold night. She holds her arms tightly around her, breathing through her mouth silently, warming up her icy lips. The air was a lot warmer earlier and she wonders how the atmosphere can change so abruptly. Finnick suggests they take a break for the night in a clearing. In relief, Katniss leans her back against the bark of an oak tree and slides down until she's resting on her rear. Finnick leans against another tree across from her.

Katniss wraps her arms around her knees and rests her chin on top of them. They had been trekking all day for hours, leaving the destroyed hovercraft behind in their wake. She's still not too keen on the idea of heading to District 13 without having any clear idea of its location. Perchance they should have stayed with the hovercraft and waited for help to come to them? Then she remembers all of those bodies back there; Haymitch's body that Finnick wouldn't let her see. She decides that she'd rather be away from the damage and the horrid memories. But the thoughts are still consuming her mind though like bees in a hive. She wants to forget everything. Forget the games, forget the crash, forget the deaths. Her mind thinks otherwise.

She can still feel herself strapped in her seat as the hovercraft tumbles and shakes. Her heart had been pounding uncontrollably in her chest and she thought it would burst out. Fear had gripped at her being, and she had to grab hold of Finnick's hand the whole time and nearly squeezed the life from it. When the hovercraft finally hit the ground, only then her mind ran blank and she forgot everything. Just as her thoughts started to come, the dreams, she thought she was dying or already dead. She saw Peeta standing over her. He was in the Capitol so that couldn't have been real. Then when she opened her eyes in the world of reality, she wished she didn't have to witness what had become of the incident.

The cool air is piercing her skin like syringes going through her body and Katniss is all reminded of the last words she said to her dead mentor. "_I'll kill you_!" she had said. Now he's dead. Is she happy, now that she got what she wanted? No. She is long far from happy. The pain is there, in her chest, twisting in complex angles, suffocating her until she has to gag up more vomit. She leans over, holding her stomach, as she spills her guts out in a bush. The tears are there, spilling from her eyes that she hardly even notices. Then there's Finnick, who is suddenly beside her, rubbing her back in smooth circles. She wants to slap his hand away, tell him to get away from her, but she doesn't have the strength to do the action. He's only trying to help, she'll give him that much. Even after he kept secrets from her with Haymitch and the others who were involved.

Johanna, Mags, Seeder, Chaff, the Morphlings, almost half of the tributes were in on it. They formed the plan from the beginning, to rescue her and Peeta. The two of them were never told of this plan though. Everyone claimed that they didn't want to risk it. It's already too late to be mad about it. Katniss already expressed her anger when she attacked Haymitch and she's regretting the memory every second she releases her insides. When she's done, she flops back down onto her rear to sob some more. She loved Haymitch. He was like family to her. She never wanted him to die. She didn't mean it when she said she would kill him. The anger had consumed her at the time and she was so focused on Peeta that she said things she didn't mean. Now she can't apologize to him. He's gone.

Finnick hasn't gone back to his spot yet. First, he pulls his sweater over his head, leaving himself only in a plain black t-shirt, and then hands the sweater to Katniss. "Here," he says.

Katniss stares at the dark gray sweater extended toward her. She's too cold to reject it, so she takes it from him and pulls it over her head, putting her arms through the holes. The sweater feels warm from Finnick's body heat. She rests her elbows on her knees and snuggles her face in her arms for warmth. Then there's Finnick's footsteps retreating back to his spot. She didn't thank him for the sweater and she didn't want to either. She doesn't like Finnick, but she doesn't genuinely hate him either. Though she's glad that someone survived in the crash or otherwise she'd be alone. Still, if she had to choose who to survive in the accident, she would have chosen Haymitch without a doubt.

"I'll keep the first watch," Finnick murmurs. "You get some rest."

Katniss clenches her hands into fists. Is he being serious? "I _can't_ sleep," she says tersely. _Not after what happened._ Even if she could, her dreams would most definitely be filled with horrid nightmares about it.

Finnick doesn't respond to her statement directly. "They should come for us, you know," he says. "Well, more so you. You're the Mockingjay. The whole point was to keep you alive and I'll make sure it stays that way."

Katniss feels angry with him for talking about that. The Mockingjay. She's supposed to be the Mockingjay. That's the whole reason why everyone was keeping her alive, not because they genuinely cared about her. It was a plan, a deal, to spark the rebellion. How can he sit here and talk to her that way? "That's all though, right?" she seethes, looking up at him now.

He stares at her.

"No one's coming for us," she says. "We don't even know where we are and for all they know we could be dead," as she says it, she doesn't even know who _they_ are. Plutarch Heavensbee and Haymitch, but that's it. And they're dead. Who else is there? "You could have told me," she says.

"Believe me, I would've told you," Finnick says. "Everyone was told to keep it secret. We were only following orders, doing our part for the rebellion, even if it meant risking our own lives."

That explains why that Morphling jumped in front of Peeta before that monkey killed him. Still, Katniss would've felt more comfortable knowing, instead of being an oblivious fool during the games. It hurts knowing that no one trusted her enough, not even Haymitch. Although she tries to keep Haymitch's view in the present, she has to remind herself that he's no longer alive and has to refer to him in past tense now. More tears want to come, but she pushes them away by blinking rapidly. No more tears for tonight.

"And you're still following through with it," she says quietly, her anger subsiding.

"The faster we get you to District 13, the faster we'll be able to rescue Peeta…and Annie." Finnick says the last part more quietly.

Katniss remembers Johanna telling her about Finnick's undying love for the mad girl who won the 70th Hunger Games in the arena. "They have Annie?"

Finnick nods his head shortly. She can see his throat move as he swallows. "The Capitol picked her up and took her as hostage to use against me…" he begins to fumble with something his hand. A piece of string. Where'd he get that from? Katniss wonders. Then he starts to create knots with it, moving at a quick pace.

Katniss watches him for a moment, trying to figure out whether to feel bad for him or not. If they're using Annie for questioning then they'll be doing the same for Peeta. Snow will torture them, she just knows it. It pains her to think about it. She didn't think Finnick had feelings like that. He showed hardly any emotion of pain or guilt during the games, except for when Mags died.

"I'm sorry about your mentor, Katniss." Finnick murmurs sincerely, avoiding her gaze.

Her bottom lip twitches at the sound of Haymitch's name. She was on the verge of tears again, but she pinched the skin on her thigh to stop them from cascading.

The whole night, they stayed up. Katniss entertained herself by watching Finnick make multiple knots with his string. When her mind was at ease for a few seconds, the negative thoughts would come up again and remind her of the horrible things that took place recently. When the sun rises, just above the horizon, the two of them decide to start moving. The air becomes warmer as they move forward, thanks to the heat of the sun that quickly rises higher in the sky as they go on. Minutes go by, or even hours, as they trek through the vast forest. These trees aren't like the ones in the arena. They aren't like the ones in District 12 either.

Finnick is walking ahead of Katniss. She wanted to give him back his sweater but he told her to keep it and that he was no longer cold. He stops abruptly in front of her and she nearly bumps into him. She opens her mouth to ask him what he's looking at but he speaks first.

"Let's go back the other way."

"What?" Katniss asks in disbelief. They just had come a long way. Why would they turn back? "We've been walking for hours and there's nothing back there for us," she reasons.

Finnick is shaking his head, backing away. He sees something. Katniss tries to look around him but he blocks her view with his body. He turns to face her and grabs her by the arms. "There's nothing for us this way either. Let's just go back," he says, sounding serious. Then Katniss sees the desperation in his eyes and that only raises her curiosity. She yanks her arms free and moves around him in one swift movement. When she sees the sight, she wishes her curiosity didn't get the best of her.

The sight before her is devastating and it nearly makes her knees buckle. District 12 is gone.

**To be continued… **

_I know it starts off rather tragic but things will start to get better once Katniss and Finnick become closer. Hopefully enough of you will like it for me to continue. Do you guys think you'd want to read more in the future to see where this goes? _


	2. Hopeless

_I appreciate all of the reviews and follows. Thanks for taking interest. Hope you enjoy this second chapter._

**Chapter 2: Hopeless**

**Theme Song**: Pure as Snow by Mono; The Wordless Music Orchestra – [_Pull it up on YouTube and listen as you read or whenever] _

**~Katniss~**

A wasteland. An entire District wiped out. Buildings and houses are dilapidating, broken and destroyed at every corner. Debris is scattered about in large heaps with fragments of rusty building pieces spreading across the land. Roads are busted and destroyed with major potholes in them. The Seam is near this area though that doesn't even seem like home anymore. A few of the buildings in that area are falling to rubble but the other half is slightly touched from whatever happened here. This place is far from home. Unbelievable.

Katniss's breath catches in her throat as she witnesses the most catastrophe she has ever seen. This isn't District 12 anymore. This is a sick, twisted _wreck_. Her mind is swarming with thoughts and images of what use to be her own. It's implausible. It's too _unreal_. What could have caused such devastation? What natural disaster could actually conjure up such a terrible outcome? And what about her family? Her family. Prim. Gale. Her mother. Everyone. They're all gone. Suddenly it feels like a pit opened up inside of her and it expands infinitely, dragging her under into the depths of darkness. She wants to find a corner and curl up there and just weep until she eventually dries up and dies. Her breathing has suddenly increased as terrifying images materialize within her mind of people running and screaming for their lives. She imagines her family running…dying.

Katniss's eyes nearly look directly through Finnick as he comes around to step in front of her. She's lost in some visionary world with a horror stricken expression. The District 4 tribute places his hands on her shoulders, staring her straight in the eyes. "Before you jump to conclusions, you need to know that your family didn't die during the bombings," he says.

Katniss breaks from her daze, able to stare at him clearly now. "_What_?" She's a mixture of hope, relief, and bafflement. This place was bombed. She had no idea.

"They got out when the explosions happened," Finnick explains, "as well as a lot others. They're alive and safe in District 13."

Katniss swallows silently. "They…are in District 13?" she asks, not sure if she should be happy that they are safe or angry that she wasn't told of something so imperative.

Finnick nods brusquely, releasing her shoulders. "The Capitol hovercrafts dropped the bombs sometime during when we were in the arena," he says. "I was told that a lot of them escaped to the District at the time, well before we would've arrived."

Katniss runs this through her mind quickly. Her family is safe in District 13. She's glad they are alive. She's glad they are safe. But this doesn't fix the issue here. "You _knew_," she says in silent anger. "You didn't tell me." Is there anything else he hasn't told her yet? Anymore more horrendous secrets?

There's a guilty look on his face. "We were going to tell you, before we…when we were on the hovercraft…" he says. "But…I didn't think it'd be like this. I'm so sorry."

"No. You weren't going tell me," Katniss says shaking her head. They were just going to let her find out about it the hard way, let her witness it for herself. "_No you_ _weren't_," she growls. With that, she walks around him and heads toward the destroyed Seam. Her shoes scuffle the flooring loudly, kicking up dust and petty fragments. Where is she going? She doesn't know. Anywhere that gets her far away from Finnick Odair. She wasn't told. She wasn't _told_. So many secrets, so many lies, so many deaths. It's not easy being angry for long when several of the people in on it are dead. When she turns around, she sees that Finnick is following her, a few paces away from her.

_Can't let the Mockingjay out of his sight_. Katniss thinks sarcastically, hurrying on ahead.

These houses are nearly on the verge of collapsing. Most of them are broken in some parts and falling in areas. Katniss stays cautious as she hurries toward her old home. She would've gone to see her new house in the Victor's Village, but unfortunately there's nothing left as far as her sight can see. She can't go there. There's nothing left in that area. The pain comes again, replacing her anger, and she pauses at the front door step of her house. Surprisingly her house has been left untouched from the bombs. There's not a scratch on it. Some of the other houses in this area aren't exactly gone, just a bit run down, not much compared to hers though.

With a shaky hand, Katniss reaches for the doorknob and pulls it open. The door makes a screeching sound, due to not being opened in such a while. When it's all the way open, Katniss just stands in the doorway, taking in the place she once lived in. She sees the boarded, wooden floors through a hall that leads to the kitchen and the living room. There's the other hall that leads to other rooms; the bedrooms and bathrooms. A small, feeble home. This place is so familiar and it feels unreal to be here again. It's like the world hasn't been destroyed outside once you're in.

Taking in a deep breath, Katniss takes her first step inside. The wood under her shoes make a low creek sound with each step she takes that's hardly noticeable. Her fingers run across the brown painted wall of the hall collecting dust as she makes her way slowly to a wide, open entryway. The living room. She halts there, turning her head to look toward the front door. Finnick is just standing there, making no attempt to come in, as he looks around the house. What's wrong with him? Is he waiting for her to invite him in? Katniss shakes her head in dismissal as she enters the living room.

There's still furniture in here, not that her family would ever move it or anything. A long brown couch, facing an old boxed television set on the floor; a clock hanging on the wall; a fireplace where they use to build fires on cold days; and few other loose decorations. The picture frame that once stood on a desk is no longer there. It was a photo of Katniss and her dad. She remembers her mother taking the photograph to their new house in the Victor's Village. That's gone now. Everything they took to that house is gone. But there are so many memories in here than there ever was there.

Katniss decides to head upstairs to her room. When she gets there, she stands in the doorway to take in everything she remembers. Her walls, her floors, her mirror on the wall, her closet, her window, her bed. That bed was the same bed her and Prim slept in before Prim's first Reaping. Prim was so afraid then as she prepared herself for the event and I called her a little duck for not tucking in the back of her shirt. It feels so long ago though it was only just a year ago. Katniss pulls her tired feet over to her bed and flops down onto the cushion. When was the last time she slept in this bed? A year ago, she remembers, with Prim, of course.

The mirror on the wall faces Katniss directly and she's able to stare at her own reflection through the glass. What she sees is a horrid looking, seventeen year old girl. Hair sticking up in all directions, face stained with tears, cuts and bruises all over her body, and dark circles under her eyes. Smelly. Dirty. This isn't the Girl on Fire. She stands up, deciding to take care of herself. She goes into her own bathroom to check if the water works. When she turns on the shower, it makes a strange noise, before springing on. Dark, orange water sprays from the nozzle for a moment before clearing up and becoming clean.

With an exasperated sigh, she shuts the bathroom door, pulls off her jumpsuit, and hops into the shower. She closes her eyes in satisfaction as the warm water runs down her body, feeling content. She stands there for a long time, soaking in the warm water, before finally deciding to scrub herself clean with a bar soap. The soap isn't fancy here like the ones in the Capitol or the Victor's Village. It's just plain soap with a plain lemon scent. When she turns off the shower, her skin becomes cold due to the air around her. She steps out and wraps a towel around her. The mirror hanging over the sink had become foggy because of the misty hot water. With a hand, she rubs across the surface until she can see her reflection. Fresh, clean, morose. Nothing worth looking at any longer.

It doesn't take long for Katniss to slip on some fresh clothes she seemingly left behind, and heads down the hallway. Finnick's no longer in the front doorway. Instead, he's sitting on a chair in the kitchen, tying knots with a piece of rope as he murmurs words quietly to himself. He seems so intent on what he's doing, he doesn't notice her stepping in.

"Finnick…?"

He stops and looks up at her.

Perhaps she should apologize for yelling at him earlier? Thinking better of it, she goes with a simple, "Are you okay?"

"I hope so…" he murmurs quietly, glancing back down at his unfinished knot. Then he looks back up at her. "What about you?"

Katniss shakes her head slowly. "I don't think I'll ever be okay." What with what happened yesterday and what happened here. Things won't ever be the same again. She sits at the table across from him and rests her elbows on it.

"I'm sorry about what happened here…to your home," Finnick says, beginning to untie his rope. "This shouldn't have happened."

"And the crash shouldn't have happened either," she says rather curtly. She's still upset with him for not telling her sooner, instead of having her witness it on her own. She could have braced herself for impact and she wouldn't have been surprised when she arrived.

"You're right. None of this should have happened." Finnick seems to choose to ignore her cross tone as he makes loops with his rope. Katniss watches him closely.

"What are you doing?" she asks finally.

He doesn't look at her as he responds. "Creating knots," he replies simply.

"What for?"

"It relaxes me. Keeps me sane."

Katniss stares at him for a moment in silence, taking in his appearance for once. His eyes are tired and baggy. His posture is slouching and the expression on his face isn't at all pleasant. He's as distressed as she is and lot dirtier too compared to how clean she is now. "You can wash up if you want. I can find you some of my dad's old clothes to wear…" she says.

Finnick looks over at her. "The water works?" he asks in surprise. Then he seems to be looking at her the first time, realizing she's not in her jumpsuit anymore. "Oh alright. Your dad won't mind?"

Katniss tenses up. He doesn't know her dad isn't alive anymore. "No."

"Okay." Finnick pauses.

Katniss slides out of her chair. "Come on," she says and walks away without waiting for him. She hears his footsteps following close behind her, all the way down the hallway.

They go into her room and she leads him to the bathroom. "There's more soap in the cabinet there and I'll get you a towel to dry off with," she murmurs as Finnick peers around. "I'll be back." Leaving Finnick there, Katniss heads off to the hallway. She pulls open a tall, storage cabinet where there are a few folded towels and washcloths inside. Taking out one of each, she returns back to the bathroom where Finnick has started to strip. Immediately she whips around with a gasp. "Damn you, Odair!" she exclaims. Her cheeks are probably bright pink by now. She didn't see anything, luckily, but still she could've.

"Something the matter?" Finnick asks. She hears him toss something aside. Perhaps the last of his clothes.

Katniss has her back turned to him in the doorway, and she tries not to imagine his naked figure behind her. "Y-You!" she stammers.

"What about me?" he sounds clearly bewildered.

"I told you I was coming back," she says. "Your clothes."

The male is quiet for a moment. Then he starts chuckling like it's some joke.

"Don't make light of this!" she snaps, even though there's a nervous smile tugging at her own lips.

"It's just skin, Katniss," he says, still chuckling. "I would've expected you to have seen Peeta already without any coverings, with what you being pregnant. Except you were too pure to even help with his leg…" he trails away, realizing something.

"Yeah," Katniss snaps. "It was a lie. There's no baby. I'm too _pure_ for that, remember?"

Finnick snorts. "You had us all fooled. Should've guessed it."

With a hard swallow, Katniss hands him the towel and wash cloth, keeping her head turned in the opposite direction from him. She feels him take it from her and with that she leaves the room quickly without waiting for him to thank her. When she's out, she leans her back against the wall in the hallway. A sigh of relief escapes her lips, happy to get out of there. There's nothing worse than seeing someone without their clothes on. Fortunately she saw nothing and she's grateful for that. She probably wouldn't be able to get the image out of her mind if she did.

Then Katniss heads to her father's room. She pauses at the door. It's wooden like all of the other doors in the rest of the house, except the yellow paint on the doorknob is smooth and solid. The other doorknob's paint has chipped away from constantly being turned to open, whereas her father's door hasn't been opened in years. Of course her mother went in from time to time in grief the first few years, but never again since. Katniss, however, never stepped foot in his room since the mining accident. She always considered his room sacred and that she should cherish his things by leaving them alone. Well except for the bow he personally gave her that still resides in there. She put it back in there for him, as a way of leaving a part of herself with him.

The door opens with a barely audible screech. Katniss takes one step into the room and her nose instantly fills with the scent of her father. Wood and coal formed together, creating his smell that is all too familiar to her. This brings slight tears to Katniss's eyes that she has to blink away quickly before they are able to cascade down her cheeks. Stepping into his room feels as though she is stepping into another world; a world where only the nonliving walk. The furniture in the room are rather dusty. Sunlight from the window enables her to see the white lint floating in the atmosphere of the room.

Katniss walks further into the space, toward an old, dark wooden wardrobe. On top the flat surface of the wardrobe is a single photo of Prim as a baby with her father holding her in his arms. They're standing in front of the house that looks a lot less decaying, with fresh dark paint. They are both smiling, Prim not looking at the camera directly. Babies don't know when they are being photographed. Swallowing, Katniss tears her gaze from the photo and fumbles with the knob to pull the top drawer open. Why are her hands shaking? She squeezes the knob tightly to stop the shaking and pulls open the drawer. Inside, there a few folded clothes that hasn't been touched or worn in years. Katniss pulls out a dark, black t-shirt and brings it to her face. She sniffs it slowly. Her father's scent is even stronger on the clothes than the room. Suddenly it's all too much. She can't let Finnick wear her father's clothes. It'll remind her too much of her father and Finnick will be walking around smelling like him. She can't do it.

She closes the drawer abruptly and hurries out of the room. When she reaches the hall her pace slows. It feels like she just left someone's clutches. The pain is still there, in her chest, slowly withering away as she eases closer to her room. The shower can be heard running. She makes her way toward the bathroom door that is now shut and leans her head against it. What can she say? That she doesn't want Finnick wearing her dad's clothes because she doesn't want to be reminded of him? She doesn't want to lie either, but she's not left with much options here.

With a heavy swallow she shouts, "There are no clean clothes of my dad's. You'll have to wear the same ones you were wearing!"

"That's alright, Katniss!" she hears him shout. "I'll be fine with what I have. Thanks for trying."

"Yeah…" she says quietly as she moves away from the door. Guilt gnaws at her insides as she trails down the hallway. She makes her way into the kitchen, deciding to look for something to eat, even though she's not hungry. Her hands rummage through the cabinets. Her family was poor, very poor before she won the games. They didn't have much to eat and she had to go out almost every day in search of food, mainly hunting with Gale. Ultimately, she's able to find a single can of alphabet soup. Prim use to love these.

Katniss sets the can onto the table with a slam. There's nothing to eat, even if she were hungry. Perhaps she'll go hunting. It's been awhile since she's done anything productive other than training to kill people. Practicing her archery skills in the training center of the Capitol, isn't exactly considered fulfilling. She'd rather use her skills for hunting animals than humans.

Eventually, Finnick comes into the kitchen, looking damp and clean. He's beautiful compared to the dirty attire that's wrapped around his body. He sniffs at his shirt and then wrinkles his nose.

_Not quite use to wearing unkempt clothing, hm?_ Katniss thinks. _I bet you had all the fanciful stuff back in District 4, everyone practically gave you everything you wanted. The wealth, the class, the women.._. She hasn't thought about Finnick that way in a while, since she met him, and just thinking about it angers her. Though in fact, since they've been out, she hasn't noticed that demeanor in Finnick yet, except for the shower incident. He's like a complete different person now. Complex. That was the word. He's very complex. He has a diverse personality; that has to be it.

"Did you manage to find anything to eat?" Finnick asks, sliding into the chair across from her. He runs a hand through his bronze hair, sprinkling water droplets onto the table. Katniss slides the can of soup to him, which he catches in his hand firmly. He peers at the labels. "Alphabet soup," he says out loud. "This is hardly anything. Couldn't even feed a newborn."

"That's all I could find," Katniss murmurs. "I left all of my food at my house back in the Victor's Village because I didn't think I'd be returning here to eat..." she adds curtly. _Not with company anyway_.

"Well, sense it's your house, you have every right to have it," he says as he slides the alphabet soup toward her.

"Not hungry." She slides it right back to him.

"Neither am I," he says. She expects him to push it back to her, but instead he examines the labels again. "I don't think I'll be hungry anytime soon…" he murmurs.

The two are left in silence. After the catastrophe yesterday, they couldn't conjure up the feelings of hunger or tiredness yet. Sooner or later, it'll catch up to them, and they'll have to do those things. The thought of food only makes Katniss annoyed. They won't have any _when_ they get hungry. That's the issue. The whole District is a wasteland, hardly anything left.

"I'm going hunting," Katniss announces. She'd rather go out now before she starts thinking about the people who died in the crash again. Hunting will keep her mind off of those thoughts.

Finnick peers over at her, setting down the can. "Are you sure that's safe? Shouldn't we figure out what we're going to do first before we decide to get too comfortable here?"

Katniss narrows her eyes at him. "Yes and no," she replies.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Finnick looks surprised at her. "You do know we can't stay here. We'll need to leave eventually."

"What do _you_ want to do then, Odair?"

"Figure out how to reach District 13 or find some kind of help. Or we could call someone─"

"─Call someone?" Katniss says, interrupting him. "We can't call anyone," _Idiot, _she adds to herself. "The phones don't work, the communications are down. We don't even have electricity."

"If you have a better idea I'm all ears," he says, drumming his hand on the table.

"I _have_ an idea," she says. "And it's not trekking through the wilderness with no idea of where our destination is located."

"I wasn't suggesting we do that."

"Then what are you suggesting?" Katniss counters. When Finnick doesn't respond, she continues. "Wait for a train? There's no trains coming here anymore. No one comes here anymore. We might as well be dead."

"Do you _want_ to stay here?" he asks steadily.

"Not as much as you want to leave," she snaps. His calm composure is angering her even more. "When they find that hovercraft, whomever _they_ are, they will think we're dead like everyone else we left behind."

Finnick shakes his head. "No. They'll see the bodies and see that we're not among them…" he murmurs. He doesn't sound like he believes that.

"No they won't! They'll think we're dead!"

"If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you're giving up."

Katniss's voice catches in her throat and she grows silent. She swallows hard. He does have a point. Ever since Haymitch died, she felt like she had no strength anymore. Haymitch was her mentor, her family. Even though he always annoyed her, she still cared about him. She loved him. And now she's on the verge of tears again. Then she blinks them away, not wanting to cry in front of Finnick. She turns her head away from him.

"Katniss…" Finnick says more softly. "We can't stay here. You have a purpose and if you don't fulfill it, the districts will perish. The Capitol will win. We all need you."

"No one needs me…" she mumbles.

She sees Finnick's muscles tense and she thinks he's about to have an outburst. Though his voice is quiet with just the hint of annoyance. "Katniss, I can't force you to go but I hope you'll start to see reason." And he gets up to head to the living room.

"Same to you," Katniss says under her breath. She didn't think he heard her though. She goes to her room, slips on her hunting boots, grabs her bow, and heads to the woods. There's no reason to worry about the fence anymore because there's no power on anywhere in the District. Only when she's deeply in the woods, she starts to scream and cry. She cries over Haymitch; over the fact that she's lost; over the fact that District 12, her home is destroyed; over that the Capitol has Peeta; and over everything.

_Stupid District 13. Stupid Finnick. Stupid Capitol. Stupid Mockingjay_.

**~Finnick~**

The day has fallen into night, and Finnick is sitting in the dark with lit candles around the room. The living room sofa is quite comfortable which helps him feel at ease for the time being as he ties knots with his piece of rope. Silence fills the walls, the only sound coming from his fingers moving with the string quickly. He murmurs words to himself, murmuring that everything is going to be okay, that Annie is going to be okay. He can see her in his mind constantly. The Capitol tortures her in every corner of his mind and all she does is scream for him to help her. He can't stop imagining the worse that's happening and he feels like he's going insane. It if weren't for the rope and the warm cushion underneath him, he'd probably go crazy and break some furniture. And there's already been enough violence here as it is.

Katniss has been gone for a long time, too many hours to count, since the late afternoon. To be honest, he's starting to worry. She stormed out of the house after their argument and she was pretty upset with him. That was never his intention in the first place. All he wanted was to get her to see reason but she was just being impossible. She doesn't understand the true dangers that is going on. The people need their Mockingjay. There are duties she has to complete in Thirteen. It frustrates Finnick when she acts like that. She's not very cooperative sometimes. Suppose she just wants to wait it out for a while? Sometimes he wishes that someone else were here, Plutarch or Haymitch, to talk sense into her. Unfortunately they are no longer living and it pains him to think about it.

An abnormal sound enters Finnick's ears, intruding with the rhythm of his tying. He pauses to listen. Then he hears it again, the sound of scratching in the kitchen. Has Katniss returned? He wonders. Only one way to find. He stands up to his feet, his legs aching from being bent for so long. There isn't much to do around the house other than keep yourself sane. Finnick ventures into the kitchen. There were only a few lit candles spread across the tables and counters, only enough to give a dim glow in half the part of the kitchen.

The sound is coming from one of the open cabinets. Cautiously, Finnick makes his way over. Expecting to see some kind of raccoon or something, he pokes his head around to look inside. In there, is not in fact a raccoon, but the ugliest cat he has ever seen in his entire life. The thing is huge, with the roundest belly, and the biggest eyes. When it sees him, it becomes frightened and leaps out of the cabinet. It then scurries down the hallway before Finnick can have time to react. The animal sure was fast for something so big.

Unexpectedly, the front door opens, and Katniss walks in looking tired. Her cheeks are stained with tears and her eyes look swollen. She must've been crying. She doesn't look over at him as she shuts the door, bow in hand. No prey.

"Nothing?" Finnick says.

"No," she says flatly, without looking at him.

He doesn't bother asking her if she's alright because he knows she isn't. "Do you own a cat?" he questions instead.

Katniss gazes at him for a moment. "My sister does. Why?"

"Just saw one run down the hall not a second ago," Finnick says, gesturing toward the stairs with his head. "Thought you should know. Maybe it'll be happy to see a familiar face."

She narrows her eyes at him before moving toward the hall slowly. She pauses. "I'm tired. When you're ready to go to sleep, you can sleep in…" she trails away, hesitating.

"Your dad's room?" Finnick offers.

"_No_," her tone surprises him slightly. He didn't mean to upset her. He just assumed since she offered for him to wear her father's clothes and maybe she would want him to sleep in his room. "Down here or in Prim's room," she finishes curtly. With that, she moves through the hall silently.

"Goodnight," Finnick murmurs, knowing she didn't hear him. He goes into the kitchen, puts out the candles, and returns to the living room. He leaves only one candle on in the living room so he won't be left in total darkness. Besides, the small light from the candle is strangely comforting. As he lies down on the couch, he realizes he doesn't have a blanket to cover himself with. Then he shrugs it off, deciding it's not that cold anyway. He rests his head on the armrest of the couch, leaving his legs to cross over the other one. He doesn't sleep. If he did, he'll be asking for nightmares. So he starts to tie knots again with his rope. The last one he did is quite tight, so it takes him a minute to pull it loose again, before he's able to start over.

Hours go by, and Finnick is sitting there thinking about stuff, mostly Annie. His eyes are getting heavier each minute. The candle has shrunken a bit from the fire but it still goes on strongly, giving the room just that much bit of light. Eventually Finnick has no strength left and lets sleep take over. The next thing he knows, he's standing in a dark prison cell. The cell is square boxed and small, only as big as a ten capacity elevator. There's a dirty girl sitting, strapped to a chair, with her wrists tied behind her back. Her face looks beat and bloody and Finnick is horrified when he realizes its Annie. He is unable to move, unable to save her, as a few Peacekeepers rush in and begin beating her senseless. Just when one is about to make the blow that'll send her unconscious, Annie looks directly at Finnick and screams.

When Finnick opens his eyes to the waking world he realizes that it's not in fact Annie screaming but Katniss in her room. Thinking the worst, he hops off the couch and bolts down the hallway.

"Katniss!" he swings the door open. He can just make out Katniss in the dark, screaming and thrashing about in the bed. Finnick hurries over and grabs her by the shoulders, shaking her. "Calm down, Katniss! It's me! It's Finnick!"

Eventually she stops thrashing and screaming as she realizes nothing terrible is happening to her. She begins to tremble and breathe heavily as she glances around for something or someone. Finnick places a hand under her chin and turns her face toward him. "Nightmare?" he asks softly.

He sees her throat move as she swallows and she nods slowly.

"I know… I have them too," he murmurs. "What was it about?"

She hesitates.

"That's okay," he says hastily. "Here, come on. I'll fix your bed." He begins to fix her covers that she ruffled from her thrashing and drapes them over her, tucking her in.

"Thank you…" she says awkwardly. Finnick can tell that she's embarrassed that he's helping her like that by her flushed cheeks.

Finnick heads toward the door but then halts to say, "I'll be in the living room if you need me."

"Okay." He hears her mutter.

Then he heads back to the living room and lies down on the couch with a sigh. Only a few minutes have passed when Katniss's screams start up again. The next thing he knew, he was tucking her back in bed again from her thrashing.

"Do you want me to stay here with you tonight?" Finnick asks suddenly, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Katniss looks surprised at his question. "In the bed with me?"

"No…I mean…" Finnick fumbles with his words, scratching the back of his head nervously. He can't believe he's genuinely embarrassed for once. "If you want me too…or I can just sleep on the floor."

Katniss stares at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to make the decision.

"I'll sleep on the floor," Finnick says finally as he stands up.

"There are some extra blankets in the closet in the hall but we don't have any other pillows…" she says silently. Then she seems to have an idea. "You can use my pillow."

Finnick shakes his head quickly. "That's alright. I'll do fine without one."

"No," she says. "The floor is hard. Take the pillow." She hands him her pillow. Not wanting to have an argument, Finnick accepts the pillow. He goes to the hallway, grabs a few of the blankets in the closet, and returns to Katniss's room, shutting the door behind him. He makes his bed on the floor and then lies down.

Finnick tries not to fall asleep but it's inevitable as his eyes clamp shut. The nightmares come. And it's not long when Katniss starts up again that wakes him. With an exasperated sigh, he gets up to help her, thinking that he won't be able to get any sleep tonight.

**To be continued…**


	3. Quiet Winds

**Chapter 3: Quiet Winds**

**Theme Song**: Only the Winds by Ólafur Arnalds [_You can listen as you're reading or before or afterwards, whenever you prefer_.]

**~Finnick~**

The warmth of the sunlight shining through the window arouses Finnick. When his eyes slowly open, his vision is cloudy and obscured. Blinking his eyelids a few times allows his eyes to adjust to the morning and leave the sleeping world. Cold air grips his bare cheeks to a feeling of frosty ice. By the sounds of Katniss's steady breathing tells him that she hasn't awoken yet. Last night he had to keep waking up to help Katniss after her thrashing and screaming from her nightmares. He had nightmares too, but clearly not has horrid and malicious as hers. To be honest, he couldn't even sleep a wink last night. The only time he actually got some peace was when the sun was nearly rising and now that he's up, he doesn't want to try and go back to sleep.

Finnick pulls himself to a sitting position, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Then he uses one hand to ruffle his hair because one side was flatted. Morning sunlight stretches across the room, seeping through the window hanging on the wall adjacent to Katniss's bed. There are no chirping birds in the distance like he use to get back in District 4. He genuinely misses the bird songs in the early mornings as they fly across his window, though they were mostly seagulls' calls because he lived so close to the beach. Though he practically use to live in the Capitol with what all the time he use to spend there. He use to hate waking up in the morning next to some Capitol girl he didn't even know during his overnight appointments.

When Finnick pulls off the covers the cold air instantly latches onto the rest of his body, squeezing him tightly. When he starts moving around the air will become warmer and eventually the entire atmosphere will start to become warm as well as the day moves ahead. The nights were oddly cold compared to the days. The pain in his back makes him feel awkward. He'll admit that sleeping on the floor was a dumb idea. But he didn't want to sleep in the living room again either or he would've been making countless trips to Katniss's room to break her out of her dream land. Whenever Annie had nightmares, he would climb into the bed with her and they would cuddle together until the bad dreams went away. It was always comforting. Though he wouldn't dare ever do that with Katniss.

The thought is almost humorous and Finnick has to smile at his abnormal deportment. He can climb into any bed with a woman, though not by choice, without so much as getting nervous or feeling strange. Katniss was a whole different person, he just couldn't picture them sleeping in a bed together, innocently. She'll probably rip out his throat if he laid even a finger on her during the night, and may even call him a pervert or a sick bastard. And he wouldn't blame her if she did. He would say the same things if he were in her position. He disgusts himself.

First night in this house and Finnick's already feeling like it's too much for him. Everything that happened two days ago, the crash, the deaths, feels like some sick bad dream. He can still imagine staring at his reflection in the black coffee and then watching the contents spill as the hovercraft begins to rock. People are running around in a panic, hustling to get into their seats. And then he sees himself buckling Katniss up. The turbulence. The bang. Then blackness. Then all of the bloody bodies hanging and folded in distorted ways, all unrecognizable. Haymitch dying below him, Katniss crying…

Finnick's broken from his thoughts when Katniss lets out a startled gasp. He whips his head around to see that large cat standing on top of Katniss' stomach. He raises his eyebrows in amusement. "He's come to take your breath away," he says playfully. He's still shaken up from his dark thoughts but he covers up his emotions well.

Katniss is not at all amused with his comment as she shoos the animal away. The cat gives her an angry hiss before leaping from the bed and scrambling under the bed. Katniss snorts and flings the blankets off her body. Finnick hears her mutter something about the dumb cat under her breath as he stands up. Then he pauses, as he starts to examine the room. Last night, he could hardly see a thing in her room and was unable to get a good look around. Now that it's day, he can see everything. There's a bed, – of course – a stubby desk butted against the wall near the bed, a small closet, the window, and that's pretty much all that's present. Not a fancy room like the one she probably has in the Victor Village's house. _Use_ to have.

"You don't have much in here," Finnick comments, gazing at her now. She's climbing out of her bed, kneeling on her knees, to peer under it.

"There isn't much to have," she murmurs. "I brought most of my things to the house in the Victor's Village…" she pauses, seeming to think whether or not to say more. Then she shakes her head. _And it's gone now_, Finnick figures she wanted to say as he watches her reach under the bed with one arm, pressing her chest to the floor.

A moment later, she jerks her hand out from under the bed. "Dumb cat." She examines the top of her hand. There's three long scratches along her hand, oozing slightly with fresh blood.

"You should put something on that in case of infection," Finnick suggests, bundling up his blankets in his arms. He'll put them away into the storage closet until he's ready to use them again. "Who knows where that animal has been the whole time no one was here? Do you have antiseptic?"

"I don't know," Katniss replies, frowning at her hand. "If there is, I wouldn't know where to find it."

Finnick brings his blankets into the hall, puts them into the closet, and returns to the room. He gets to his knees beside her. "You can go on and take care of that. I'll get…him or her?"

"Him," she replies. "His name is Buttercup." She stands to her feet and leaves the room.

Finnick ducks his head down until he's peering under the bed. Piercing yellow eyes gaze at him threateningly. It lets out a low growl that turns into a loud hiss as Finnick's hand gets nearer to it. The animal swipes at him, but he is quick to jerk his hand back. Then instantly he darts back in and grabs the cat by its scruff. Buttercup growls and struggles to get free as Finnick pulls it all the way out. When Finnick holds the animal in his arms it only then stops growling and instead starts to purr. Smiling, he begins to scratch the cat's neck causing it to purr louder in pleasure. Then he wrinkles his nose at the stench of it.

"Where have you _been_?" Finnick asks. Buttercup only narrows its eyes in satisfaction.

Finnick heads to the kitchen where Katniss is washing her hand with soap and water at the sink. She glowers at the animal in Finnick's arms. "Funny how that stupid cat survived this and not Prim's goat."

"What was her name again?" Finnick asks, sliding into a chair at the kitchen table. "Lady?"

"That's right. What do you know about her?" She cuts off the sink and starts to dry her hands off with a small towel.

Finnick shrugs casually. "I remember you telling the story to Peeta in the cave during your first games," he says. "A pretty touching story if I do say."

"You remember that? You _watched_?" she sounds genuinely surprised.

Finnick raises a confused eyebrow at her. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?" he says. "Everyone watches every games every year and has been for years. I'm not the type to ignore what's forced to be witnessed." He then gives her light shrug. Why was she so surprised? Almost everyone remembers that scene. It's when she and Peeta kissed for the first time, sparking the whole star-crossed lovers thing. He remembers it all too clearly. He was at an appointment, to his misfortune, at the time that scene began. The girl curled up on the bed next to him let out an 'awwww' and shed a few tears at the sight. Then he quivers. He _really_ didn't like her.

He doesn't care to remember her name but he remembers how she looked. Bright pink hair with blotches of purple and blues in it; unusually, large green eyes that made her look similar to a doll; and big, puffy lips that were always wet with saliva. That wasn't the horrific part of her. The horrific part of her was that she would not stop with her constant complaining. Finnick wanted to get it over with quickly because he didn't want to spend unnecessary time with her. Besides he had other appointments to go to. All she kept saying was 'no, don't do it like that' or 'come on, Finny baby' or 'oh my god.' Either she'd said that or squeal like a little girl. Several times Finnick thought he was going to explode in rage but he surprisingly kept his composure even when she begged him to watch the games with her for a few minutes.

"I don't know," Katniss says to Finnick's question. Her tone is terse. "I thought you'd be too busy in the Capitol to sit and watch television."

Finnick looks down at his shoulder to flick a piece of lint of his shirt, hiding his face. He doesn't want her to see the hurt in his eyes. Then he chuckles to cover himself up. "Believe me, Everdeen, if I had a choice to be put back in the arena or hang out at the Capitol, I'd choose being slaughtered," he says, forcing a playful look on his face. Then he looks away from her to scratch the cat's neck. "There are some things you don't know about me…things you wouldn't care to comprehend…" he murmurs.

Katniss has no idea that he's a Captiol dog, being forced to sleep with various Capitol women at the cost of his loved ones lives. She's repulsed by him and she has every right to be. If he could, he would've let himself die in that crash, just to get away from it all…

The Mockingjay is curious though as she rests her elbows on the table and leans toward him. "Try me." She says.

Finnick chuckles lightly even though it isn't funny. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Katniss doesn't move away though. She keeps staring at him, expecting him to tell her.

He lets the cat run off and turns his gaze to her, dropping his eyelids. "Maybe if you do me a favor, I'll consider telling you," he says, leaning closer to her face. "I'm sure you have many secrets that you've kept hidden…"

Katniss is looking uncomfortable at his closeness but she doesn't move away. "That depends… What kind of favor?" The look in her eyes tells him that she might have an idea what he means.

Finnick leans in closer until his lips are just centimeters from her cranberry ones. "Come on, Girl on Fire…You know _exactly_ what I want…" he murmurs. When he breathes, he can actually smell her scent. Flowery and pretty. Nice.

Katniss jerks away unexpectedly. "Forget it," she snorts.

"Suit yourself," Finnick grins at her, leaning back in his seat. He was only teasing, trying to lighten the mood a bit but she won't let him. She's real tough to crack. "We'll make a deal. You tell me one of your secrets and I'll tell you one of mine," he suggests. "Starting from the smallest, lighthearted secrets to the dark and more uncomfortable secrets."

The girl seems to consider this for a moment. Then she shakes her head. "I have no secrets worth telling."

"That's right…" he murmurs in disappointment. "You're an open book. Everyone knows everything about you." He remembers her telling him that when they first met at the Opening Ceremony. Why does that feel so long ago?

She looks away from him that tells him otherwise. This only makes his mischievous grin return. "So you _are_ hiding something, Girl on Fire."

Katniss shoots him a glare. "Just forget it. No deal."

"Alright," the male leans back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head. "Don't expect me not to bring it up later." Katniss can be quite mysterious when it comes down to it. Maybe if he can convince her to take the deal, then he'll learn quite a few things about her. After all, they have a lot of time on their hands before someone comes to rescue them, if _anyone_ ever comes to rescue them. He'll take advantage of this time if he has to, even if it means getting to know the Mockingjay.

Finnick watches her chew her bottom lip for a moment in thought. Did she always have that habit? When she stops she starts to speak, "We can go out somewhere and look for some clothes for you. There has to be some place that has decent clothing to your liking." She must trying to humor him with that sly comment, he knows it. Thinks he needs specially made clothes to wear.

Finnick doesn't take it too hard. "Sure," he says. She told him he couldn't wear her father's clothes so he was forced to put back on his dirty, blood stained clothes, which he didn't like. At least today he'll finally get some decent clothes.

Later, the duo venture out of the house to look around at the houses. Some of the houses in the Seam aren't as destroyed as the ones are in the other areas of the district. Katniss wants to go check out the Hob, to see if it's still in good shape, before they go into any of the houses in the Seam. Then she instantly changes her mind for no apparent reason and says they'll go to the Square instead. Finnick complies. Besides he's in no rush. They have practically the whole day to walk around. He wonders why she changed her mind about going to the Hob though.

It doesn't take long for the two to reach the Square. Piles of debris are in clumps and heaps in certain areas on the stage and around it. Katniss says that the Reapings were held here. This reminds Finnick of his reaping ten years ago. He has changed a lot since then. He's no longer that afraid, fourteen year old boy, venturing into the horrific games. He's a man, stronger than ever now. When he nears the stage, he hosts himself up. There's a microphone sprawled across the stage attached to a standing pole to hold it up. Finnick lifts the pole with the microphone attached to it, and puts it in a standing position. He halts close to the edge of the stage, seeing the destroyed land laid out before him. Katniss is watching him from the below the stage with a questioningly look.

"_May the odds be ever in your favor_!" Finnick exclaims suddenly in a thick Capitol accent.

And Katniss laughs at his imitation. The two share their first laugh together since they were in the arena when they gave Peeta a scare. For a moment, Finnick forgets about everything and lets himself laugh wholeheartedly, listening to the tunes of their laughs. He decides that Katniss has a nice laugh and when they gradually stop, he's almost disappointed. The moment is over. Everything is back to normal.

Finnick sits down onto the edge of the stage, letting his legs dangle over the edge. "Why don't you come up, Girl on Fire?" he asks, extending a hand toward her.

She looks at his outstretched hand before shaking her head. "Too many bad memories," she says.

"Volunteering for your sister was a heroic act. Nothing to feel sad about," he reasons, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I know and I don't regret it…" she says quietly, "but I was terrified…"

"But that's normal," Finnick points out. "Even I was terrified for my first games."

"You were?" her eyes flicker in interest and surprise.

He nods. "I was out fishing with my dad on the day of the reaping," he says as he hauls her up until she's sitting beside him. Their shoulders are nearly touching. "It was the only thing on my mind as we were out in the boat. I had to make a large net in order to keep myself calm and relaxed. Making nets requires a lot of tying, so I was able to keep my mind off it for a while…"

[_**Flashback**_]

_The sun shines brightly in the morning sky, scattering across the beach, it's reflection bouncing off the ocean water's surface. A small boat hovers in the water, just a distance away from the sandy beach. The boat rocks a bit due to the weight shifting of the boy and the man who resides there. The man is a much older version of the boy, though he does have some quite differences. His hair is dark brown with a few gray hairs and he has a very big beard but other than that the resemblance is uncanny. Except the boy is far more young and radiant, and abnormally beautiful._

_The younger Finnick ─ fourteen ─ sits on a small platform within the boat as he is in the process of making a net. His fingers are moving quickly, showing no signs of stopping. The knots are very intricate and tight, and he keeps his eyes focused on the task at hand. If he stops now, he'll start thinking about the reaping again and he'll probably panic or maybe even cry like the other kids._

_His father examines a long trident in his hand before turning to his son. "Almost done there, boy?" he asks, arching an eyebrow._

"_Nearly. Hold on," murmurs Finnick, keeping his eyes concentrated on the net. _

"_You've been saying that for the past ten minutes," his father says. "We'll have to hurry before it's time for us to head for the Square. They're going to announce the tributes."_

_Fear grips at Finnick's heart. _Yes, I know_. He thinks. He doesn't want to think about it. Unfortunately his father presses on. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Finnick. You're stronger than you think you are, both physically and mentally. Start acting like it."_

_Finnick's ears twitch at his father's words but he continues to work. He's been long done with the net, he just wanted to stall time. "You're talking like I've already been picked…" he mutters._

"_Never count yourself out. No one's special." _

_Finnick doesn't respond to that. His father has always been kind of negativity and strict, so it's normal for him to be acting like this. He did the same thing for every reaping he's been through, since he was twelve years old. This is nothing new. Though Finnick's chances at getting picked this year are far greater than they were the other two years. Explains why this lecture is longer than the last two._

"_You'll need to be smart in there," his father continues. "Be careful in the bloodbath, get to a trident – if one is available – as soon as you can. Once your hands are on that weapon, know that you're unstoppable. Remember that it's kill or be killed, the choice is yours."_

_Finnick acknowledges with a nod of his head. _

"_And make allies, if you can, but never fully trust them," says the man. "Always keep your eyes open, get to water, get food, and never turn your back on anyone."_

"_I thought you said don't make allies," Finnick points out, pausing. The other two lectures he remembers his father telling him not to make allies, after what happened in the last games. Both District 4 tributes were slaughtered by the Careers as soon as they made an alliance. It happened in their sleep. He swallows at the horrid memory._

_The older man shakes his head. "I suggest you create an alliance at the beginning, but make sure to remember to leave them without their consent. You have to be the first to initiate the alliance and the first to break it, understand?"_

_Finnick nods, not sure why he has to do that. Just feels like his father is putting so much pressure on him with all this talk, making him even more anxious for the reaping. "Anymore advice?" he asks reluctantly._

_His father seems to be thinking for a moment, staring off at the sea moving gently. Then he turns back to his son with a serious expression. "Remember…_a wise person kills their enemies quick for the kindest death_."_

"_Right…" Finnick murmurs, finally deciding to stop weaving the net. "I'm ready."_

[_**End of Flashback**_]

**~Katniss~**

Finnick stops talking abruptly there, so he's probably thinking about what happened next. Katniss knows what happened. He went to the Square where he was reaped for the games. Now he's been quiet for too long. "You don't have to talk about it anymore…" Katniss murmurs quietly.

She learned something about Finnick today, that he does have fears and maybe even regrets. He's not that heartless person she assumed he was when they were in the arena. Maybe that's not what he was going to tell her earlier at the house, but she's glad to have to know _something_ about him. They might be here for days or weeks or months and they don't really have a choice but to get to know each other, to become friends. Friends… She would have never said the word when they were in the arena. They were more so _allies_ than friends, that's a big difference. Perhaps in the time they have can kindle a friendship of some sort, if that's even possible with Finnick Odair.

The two stare off at the ruins of the district, letting the steady wind blow against the skin on their faces, the sun battling against the cool air. They may have sat there, staring at nothing in particular, for a few minutes or an hour. When they finally decide to go, Finnick helps Katniss down from the stage, holding her by the hips. Not that she needed help, but she's not one to complain when it's offered. They head back to the Seam, walking side by side, trailing over dust and rubble with caution. A few of the Seam houses still appear in somewhat good shape, so they go into a few of those to find Finnick some clothes. Katniss isn't sure if he minds wearing other people's clothing or not, but he hasn't had a word of objection yet.

She still feels bad for not letting him wear her dad's clothes. He could be wearing it now instead of those stained bloody clothes. Nonetheless, she was always going to help him find some other clothes, so why was it such a big deal? Because she didn't want to smell her dad on him. She didn't want to think of her dad whenever she looked at him wearing what was his. Whatever the reason, she'll make it up to Finnick.

The houses had a variety of men's clothes and luckily they were clean, tucked away in closets or dressers. When the duo are done gathering as much as Finnick would need, they return to Katniss's house where Finnick immediately hops in the shower in her room. Katniss washes the dirt from her hands in the kitchen sink. The warm water spills easily from the nozzle and onto her hands, washing away the dark colors on her palms. Scratches from when Buttercup scratched her have turned a bright shade of pink. At least it was no longer bleeding. When she was done, she dries her hands off with a towel before heading to the living room where she last left her hunting boots.

She wasn't going hunting this time. The house gets rather cold at night so she's going to grab some firewood in the woods to start the fireplace. Her father use to start fires on cold, winter days where the whole family would gather around at to get warm, with blankets over their shoulders, while drinking warm hot cocoa – if they had any. Prim use to lay curled up in her father's arms on the floor, while Katniss always sat close to her mother on the sofa, holding hands. Those were the days when Katniss genuinely liked her mother, now she's not sure how she feels about her mother. The woman use to be _happy_ then. And unfortunately Katniss will never see her smile again, her mother was too distraught after her father died. She was more broken that her and Prim were, which is odd, because Katniss was pretty close to her father. Maybe her and Prim were just stronger than their mother, or maybe because they were too young to fully understand death at the time.

The boots slip on her last foot and she stomps her foot on the floor to get it to come on firmly. She did the same with the other one and then heads for the door. Right when she's about the exit, she halts thinking. Perhaps she should wait and tell Finnick where she's going so he won't worry? With a sigh she goes into the kitchen and sits at the table. After a few minutes, Finnick comes in there drying off his hair with a towel. He has on a black muscle shirt and long, smooth, dark, brown pants. Katniss is able to see his brawny muscles on his bare, tanned arms, and his hair looks shiny. Does he always have to look good in everything he wears?

Finnick approaches her, draping the towel over his shoulder.

Katniss stands up. "I'm going out to fetch some firewood. It gets pretty cold here at night," she says.

"I'll come with you," he offers, his eyes glinting. "It beats staying here with smelly over there." He gestures with his head toward the feline that's sprawled out on the floor near the doorway. Katniss hadn't noticed that lump there before.

"Right," she says with a brusque nod. She prefers to go alone but there's no point in starting an argument with him. When they reach the fence that leads to the woods, Finnick pauses as Katniss ducks under. She turns to him wondering what he's doing. "What are you doing? The woods is this way," she says.

Finnick stares at her between the wires. "Seems dangerous. You used to do this all the time?" he asks.

She nods. "Yeah. It's like what you do when you fish. Isn't fishing illegal in your District?"

"Pretty much…but you have to be extra careful," he murmurs, reaching out with his hands to grab the wires, perhaps thinking he'll get electrified. When his hands wrap around the wires, Katniss lets out a loud scream. Finnick jumps in surprise, startled. Then she laughs at his reaction.

"Katniss…" Finnick says in embarrassment, running a hand through his hair.

_That was for not telling me about the District being bombed._ She thinks.

When he climbs through the fence, she finally stops laughing. "That's the second time I got you to laugh today," he says, staring at her in amusement now.

Katniss shakes her head as they begin to walk toward the trees. "That last one didn't count," she says still smiling.

"How?"

"I made myself laugh that time," she replies.

Finnick grins. "Alright, don't think I won't try to make you laugh later."

"We'll see."

They move through the woods together in search of firewood. There's no sounds of prey in the woods at all, except for the occasional bird call. Birds can go wherever they wish, it's no doubt they stick around after the bombing. After a while, they manage to come across a few large chunks that'll suffice. When their arms are full, they decide to head back to the house. Finnick stops abruptly, calling Katniss to a stop.

She turns around to face him. "What?" she asks.

"What's that there? Did anyone live there?" Finnick questions, gesturing with his head towards an old, abandoned cabin.

Katniss narrows her eyes at the cabin. "No. You want to see?" When Finnick nods, they move over to the old home. Her and her father use to go there a lot after a long hunt, and then when he died, she started going there with Gale. She remembers the District 8 refugees, Bonnie and Twill, whom she took there to feed them. They said they were heading to District 13, then when Katniss didn't believe of its existence. She wonders if they made it there or not. Did they even know where they were going? If they did make it, then couldn't she and Finnick travel there? Though she's not even sure _if_ they made it. She's about to ask Finnick if he knows them, but then she remembers that he didn't even make it to District 13 to know that.

They step into the house, Katniss pulling open the low creek door. The cabin is small. There's a boxed living room, a kitchen, and a corridor with two doors that lead to a bedroom and a bathroom. Her boots shuffle against the wood flooring as she makes her way into the living room. Finnick follows close behind her, closing the door with his foot. They set their wood pieces on the floor for now so they can look around. Finnick glances around the living room that only holds a fireplace and a long, brown couch, before venturing into the kitchen.

"Gale and I use to come here sometimes after a long hunt to take breaks and even sit by the fire on cold days," Katniss says, trailing more slowly after him.

"Your cousin? You two had this place all to yourselves?" Finnick asks, running his fingertips over a dusty table.

_Cousin…?_ Then the realization hits her. That's right. It was a fraud she created so President Snow wouldn't think that she had a relationship with Gale. Suppose the rumor spread quickly after that. There's no point in telling anyone he's just her friend. "Yes," she says to Finnick. "No one knew it even existed, otherwise Peacekeepers would've tore it down a long time ago."

"That makes sense. It's already illegal to go hunting," Finnick murmurs, moving toward a cabinet hanging over a sink. "I don't take it that you stashed food around here?" He gazes at her over his shoulder.

"Um…" I trail away, thinking. "Maybe."

Then Finnick pulls open the cabinet and he smiles when he sees what's inside. "This answers my question."

Katniss rests her elbows on the table as Finnick pulls canned food out one by one from the cabinet. She doesn't remember putting all those cans there. Well she must've put them there just in case she decided to run for it with her family before the Quarter Quell was announced. Things would've been very different if only they went. She wouldn't have met Finnick, she wouldn't have to be the Mockingjay, Peeta wouldn't be in the Capitol, and Haymitch wouldn't have died… Haymitch, her dead mentor. She swallows hard, thinking about the time when they first met. She didn't like him at first, thought he was some drunk slob. Then she got to know him and they became close, like family. Pain grips at her chest, pulling her in disoriented directions as the thoughts of the crash begin to resurface in her mind.

Only Finnick's voice brings her back to the present. "Still not hungry?" he asks, eyeing her from across the table.

She blinks her eyes quickly as she shakes her head.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she says, forcing a small smile, avoiding staring directly at him. She doesn't want him to see her eyes that have begun to tear up.

Finnick gazes at her for a moment with an unconvinced look, and then he shakes his head, looking away from her. "I'm not hungry either…" he murmurs, "but we can't starve ourselves."

"I'd starve first before I get hungry again…" she mumbles.

"I won't let that happen," he says. "We'll have to try to eat sometime."

She nods in agreement.

He begins gathering a few of the cans to take back to the house as she starts to pick up the firewood. They would have to take two trips because there are still some cans left that Finnick wants to bring. When they reach the house, Katniss puts all of the firewood near the fireplace while Finnick puts the cans into the kitchen.

"I'll go get the rest of the cans," Katniss offers, already heading for the door.

"No," Finnick's voice stops her in her tracks. She looks over her shoulder to narrow her eyes at him questioningly. "I'm not too keen on you going out there alone. Last time, you didn't come back until it was evening and I was thinking about coming to look for you."

"I'm not going hunting this time," Katniss points out curtly. What's his problem? "I won't take long, just get the fire going," she mumbles. With that, she heads out the door, shutting it behind her a little less softly than normal. What does he think is going to happen? She shakes her head. All he wants to do is keep the Mockingjay safe, not Katniss Everdeen. He's still thinking they're going to get rescued and somehow reach District 13, but she's not so sure. If so, it won't be until a while. Besides, she knows these woods better than he does and nothing bad has ever happened to her.

Unfortunately, as she's trekking through the trees, she catches sight of an animal; the first she's seen other than that chubby cat, Buttercup. It's a dog. The fur on its body is light gray with streaks of caramel brown. She can literally see the bones bulging through the skin on its ribcage. It must not have eaten it days. As it nears her, she notices that this isn't any ordinary dog. It's a coyote.

What does she know about coyotes? That they live in forests or desserts or the hills and usually travel alone. They aren't like wolves that travel in packs, these usually travel alone and are sort of independent. They eat any scraps of food they can find if they are desperate enough. Usually they tend to stay away from humans. Unfortunately there's only one human here though and that's her. There has never been a coyote in the woods before since her dad was alive. Her and her father were out hunting one time when the coyote seemed to come out of nowhere and attempted to attack them. They drove it away, giving it a couple of warning wounds, and it never returned. She hasn't seen one since then.

The coyote lets out a low growl, gazing at her intently with piercing, golden eyes. This animal is beyond hungry, it's starving. And it'll eat anything, even if it's a human.

Katniss takes a meaningful step back as it takes a step toward her. She sees the cabin in her peripheral vision; it's right there, just a few feet from where she stands. If she's fast enough, she can reach the door and get inside before the coyote can catch her. But she'll need to be _really_ fast, because canines know how to run, and are usually known to outrun humans. Though she's been through a lot of training, with what the games in all. Being in the games requires a lot of running, so maybe she gained some speed after all of that.

They're both standing frozen know. The coyote is probably waiting for her to make the first move. No sudden movements. Then in an instant, Katniss bolts toward the cabin. The animal does not hesitate to give chase, gaining on her quickly. She reaches the door right when it snaps at her heels and slams the door in its face. She hears and feels the animal slam against the closed door, growling and clawing frantically. There's no lock on the door, so the coyote can easily push it open. She keeps her back up against the door, pressing against it sharply. It's strong, but not stronger than her.

Eventually the coyote stops trying to claw its way in. She waits a moment, hearing the coyote no more sounds. As quietly as possible, Katniss begins to make her way toward the kitchen. Her footsteps make a low creek on the wooden flooring with each step she takes and she pleads that the coyote won't hear them. She's easing closer to the kitchen for a weapon. Finally she reaches her destination and pulls open a drawer. Inside there are many kitchen utensils but what catches her eye is the shiny blade of a knife. She picks it up by the handle, shutting the drawer softly behind her. Then she begins to make her way toward the door again. In one quick movement, she'll open the door and stab the animal. It's the only way, because it's just sitting there at the front door and she doesn't want to stay in this cabin all night. Finnick will eventually come looking for her and may even run into the coyote.

Suddenly the wood makes a louder creek than usual and that seems to set off a trap, as the coyote barges through the door in full pursuit. It lunges at Katniss, teeth bared. She's tackled to the floor with the coyote on top. It tries to bite into her throat. Since it's so thin and light, she's able to throw it off. It falls to the side but it's up on its feet in an instant. Somehow she's able to stab the animal in the hind leg and it lets out a yelp of pain. She stabs it a few more times in the same place. It cries out and runs out through the door from which in came, going deep into the woods.

Katniss stands up with a sigh of relief. She gave it a bad enough wound for it not to return. She didn't want to kill it because her father use to say 'only kill if necessary.' In this case, it wasn't necessary, unless the circumstances were different. The coyote was just hungry, it wouldn't normally attack a human if it was full feed. That's a good enough reason not to kill it. She glances down at her hand to see it bleeding. The animal must've caught her there, luckily it's not serious. She'll have to clean that up when she gets back to the house. So, gathering all of the cans, she leaves the cabin confidently. For some reason she feels good after that sudden rush of action. Maybe she needed something to get her heart pumping and her blood flowing.

When Katniss returns to the cabin, she sees that the fire is going in the fireplace and Finnick is in the kitchen pouring some soup into a bowl. The cat is on the table trying to eat as Finnick pours the food in. Katniss makes sure to keep her hand hidden as she makes her way over.

"Why are you feeding that thing?" she asks, setting the rest of the cans onto the table next to them.

Buttercup hisses at her before continuing to eat.

"It was hungry," Finnick says with a casual shrug.

"I wonder what it's been eating while no one was here?" murmurs Katniss as she moves over to the sink. She makes sure to keep her hand well hidden as she rinses it off with the warm water. If Finnick knew she was attacked by a coyote, he would freak out and never let her go out into the woods alone again. Not that he's in charge of her or anything, he just wants to keep the Mockingjay safe. And she's in no mood for an argument. It's already getting dark and they should be preparing for sleep soon. It would be the second time they slept since the…accident.

Luckily the bite isn't deep or too wide, so she won't need any stitches. She'll just wrap it up in bandages. She must be in good fortune because it's the same hand that Buttercup scratched, so Finnick won't get suspicious. When she's done, she does just that.

"He's probably been eating some roaches or corpses," says Finnick, watching her now.

She gives him a look.

"_Animal _corpses," he corrects himself.

She looks away from him and then makes her way over to the cat eating out of the bowl. She shakes her head at how fast it's eating. "Dumb cat. Prim would be so happy that you're alive…" she says.

The cat seems to perk up at Prim's name.

Finnick begins to scratch its head causing it to purr.

"It likes you," Katniss comments.

"It would like you too if you weren't so harsh," Finnick points out.

"I'm not harsh."

"You are, when it comes to this cat," he says. "I don't know what you've done to this animal to make it hate you so much." He's teasing, she thinks.

She then makes her way to the living room and settles down in front of the fire, keeping her bandaged hand tucked away under her arm. Finnick soon follows after her and sits next to her, holding a piece of rope in his hand. They sit there, close together, staring at the flames that move over the firewood in waves. Katniss listens to the sounds of the crack of the fire and the sound Finnick's rope moving rapidly. The sounds are almost comforting, easing her out of her negative thoughts for at least a moment. For once she's actually glad Finnick's here. She may not like him as much but it's always nice to have someone around when times are tough.

**To be continued… **


	4. Cold Embrace

_I'm sorry that I didn't update sooner. I lost the motivation to write this story and I've been working on other stories too. I'm not sure when I'll update again, but hopefully it won't be another month._

* * *

**Chapter 4: Cold Embrace**

**Theme Song: **Soda by the Cinematic Orchestra [_Listen as you read, before, after, or whenever you prefer_.]

When Katniss's eyes flutter open, the room is pitch black. The candle on her bedside must've went out a long time ago due to the cold atmosphere. The sound of creaking footsteps walk across the floorboards silently, and the dark begins to materialize to form a shadow figure edging toward her bed. She can't describe the person, she doesn't know who they are, but something tells her to be afraid of them. Her heart starts to race at an incredible rate and her body becomes ice cold in fear. She's in no control of her limbs; they feel as though they are not there, but her eyes are open. How are they open? When she tries to blink against the dark shadows in the room, her eyelids won't even budge. There's someone in her room and she can't even save herself. It feels as though her body is strapped to the bed by these invisible ropes, leaving her helpless.

The shadowy figure moves toward her at an even pace, taking meaningful steps in her direction. They pause at her bedside in moments. Everything in her body tells her that whoever this is, radiates with evil intentions. An eerie glow seems to surround this person or thing as they move their face down to hers. Then in a swift movement, they clamp a rough hand over her mouth as she starts to scream. The next thing she knows, she's standing in a vast and dimly lit room that's not hers. This isn't her small home anymore. The walls are painted white, the tiled floors are a caramel color, and there's nothing else but emptiness. She can feel the walls closing in on her, literally, and soon she's squeezed together like a sandwich. A voice that's all too familiar is screaming her name. Then the scene materializes until she's somewhere else, her bones no longer being crushed. She can see Peeta now, being strangled by a Peacekeeper in a dark hallway. As she tries to run for him, they both get farther and farther away from her reach.

"Peeta!" she screams, trying to run to him. Her legs pound as fast as they can but they will never take her closer to the boy with the bread. Then hands, someone's hands. They've got her by the shoulders and they are trying to take her away. She begins to thrash wildly, screaming and scratching, in an attempt to get away. There's no way she's letting them take her. She's not going to be a Capitol slave.

Then a voice. "Katniss!"

How do they know her name? Where is she?

Their hands pin her to the bed, not before she can get a scratch down their arm, drawing a slight bit of blood. Then Katniss realizes that she's no longer in that dark hallway with a strangled Peeta. She's in her room. The light from the candle on her bedside is moving steadily, still burning strongly, giving the room that just bit of glow. She sees that the Peacekeeper is not a Peacekeeper at all. It's a familiar face. "Peeta…?" she asks groggily. She sees his blonde hair. It must be him.

He releases her wrists as she reaches up with her hand to touch his hair. No, that's no blonde. That's bronze. She retracts her hand from his hair to run it down his arm. Tan. Peeta doesn't have a tan. Then she notices the scratch going down his arm. She did that. "I'm sorry…" she murmurs quietly.

Finnick shakes his head. "It's fine. You were dreaming," he says.

"But I hurt you," she says, feeling the guilt begin to gnaw at her insides. She sits up slowly, rubbing her eyes. "Come on." She picks up the candle on the desk and takes it to the bathroom, with Finnick following more slowly behind her. When they're there, Katniss sets the candle on a platform and takes out a rag from the cabinet under the sink. She runs the water over the rag until it's soaked and she cuts off the sink.

Finnick grazes his hand through his hair beside her and lets out a low sigh. "It's fine, really. Doesn't even hurt," he says.

Katniss ignores him as she wrings out the cloth a bit. Then she begins to dab at his arm gently. When she sneaks a look at him, she sees that he's looking uncomfortable. Maybe embarrassed that she's cleaning his minor wound. "I'm sorry I keep you up at night…" she murmurs, seeing how tired he looks.

"Don't worry about it," he says. "If I went to sleep I'd be having nightmares myself." He tries to give her a weak smile but it doesn't work because of his tired expression.

"Maybe I should just go sleep at the cabin so I won't keep waking you up," she says.

He looks at her now. "What? No, that's senseless. You can't stay out there by yourself," he says.

Maybe he's right. Besides, she did encounter a coyote the other day. Who's to say she won't come across another dangerous animal? "Okay," she mutters.

"It's best if you stay here," he goes on. "I don't mind not getting any sleep."

"You'll have to sleep sometime," she tells him. "I'm used to holding Peeta at night when I sleep. We manage to keep the nightmares away when we do that."

Finnick nods slowly in understanding. "Same here. I use to do the same with…Annie." He seems tense whenever he talks about Annie like its torture just saying her name.

Katniss stops dabbing his wound, the blood all gone. It's not a deep scratch so it won't bleed anymore during the night, therefore she won't have to wrap it in bandages. She grabs the candle and the two of them head back into the bedroom. The candle flutters sharply as she sets it down onto the desk next to the bed. She climbs into the bed reluctantly. She doesn't want nightmares to haunt her mind again. That last one really left her skin crawling and that dark figure still lingers in her mind. She can see its dark, eerie face looming over her body, and feel its skeletal hand cover her mouth. A shudder runs down her spine.

Finnick gets ready to lie down on the floor but she catches his wrist. He gives her a questioningly look. "Can you sleep up here with me?" she asks hesitantly.

"What?"

"It just makes sense," she says. "I don't think either of us will get much sleep if we don't…" she hesitates, feeling uncomfortable in the situation. "…adapt," she says finally.

"You sure you want me to get in the bed with you…?" he questions, eyeing her in uncertainty. She isn't sure why he's acting strange. Shouldn't he be glad to be getting into a bed with a girl? His demeanor is off, as if he's unsure if she'll let him. Not that she genuinely wants to share the bed with him, but they aren't strangers to each other. But they aren't friends either. They don't really have much of a choice here, not enough plausible options to choose from. Other than separating and sharing the bed, she sees no other way out of this one.

"You use to hold Annie, right?" she asks. "To keep the nightmares away?"

Finnick shrugs his shoulders lightly, avoiding her gaze. "I did."

What's the matter with him? He doesn't usually act this way. Where's that cocky arrogance?

Katniss pats the bed next to her. He's tired so he doesn't seem to be in the mood to refuse any longer. He climbs into the bed next to her. She notices how he keeps his distance from her – at least three inches away from her. Then she starts to wonder if this is a good idea. What if he tried to do something to her in the middle of the night? The thought sounds too unrealistic though, so she brushes it away like so. He seems too odd tonight to be thinking about stuff like that anyway.

When her eyelids flutter shut, her mind becomes dark in seconds and the nightmares start to resurface….

In the morning, the sun wraps around the room in a warm, bright light coming through the window just hanging over the bed. The usual morning sounds don't come with the morning. It's as though the whole world has become silent, only the sounds of easy breathing coming from the room. Katniss blinks open her eyes slowly, adjusting to the brightly lit room. She still feels quite drowsy and her body is very stiff, as if she hadn't even slept a wink. Her arm is tucked under her body as she lies on her side and it feels incredibly numb. She can feel the movement of thumping against her ear and her head is rising and falling at an even pace. When she tilts her head upward, her eyes meet Finnick's sleeping face. Somehow during the night, they cuddled up together, his arms around her shoulders and her head resting on his chest.

Her belly twists in uncomfortable knots at being this close to the handsome District 4 victor. His arms are folded around her and they feel slightly warm, adding to the warmth of the blanket over them. The air is chilly but this position gives her warmth. She tries to move, but Finnick's arms squeeze her body involuntarily in his sleep.

"Annie…" he mumbles sleepily.

Katniss rests her head on his chest again with a huff. Doesn't look like she's going anywhere until he decides to wake up. She breathes in deeply, taking in his scent. The ocean. She starts to wonder what it's like in District 4 and if everyone there smells like him. Or is his scent special and above all others? It's a nice smell, she'll have to admit. Very soothing. This may be why the Capitol girls like being in his presence because just him being here is calming. But Katniss isn't one of those Capitol girls and she isn't going to fall for his charm.

When Finnick's grip loosens a bit, she starts to remove his arms from her body. She wriggles away from him and slides off the bed, stepping onto the cold floor. Her white socks look a lot cleaner compared to the wooden floorboards. She makes her way toward the bathroom, combing through her hair with her fingers. The mirror shows her tired reflection, bags under her eyes and messy hair. Going back to sleep is not an option, because she doesn't feel comfortable getting back into the bed with Finnick. They were too close for her liking.

She divides her hair into three sections and starts to weave them together. She's not going to take a shower today, because she already took one yesterday and she hasn't done anything that would've made her smelly. Her hand still throbs painfully from when that coyote bit her, so she's careful with it as she braids her hair. When she's done, she decides to check her bandages. Her skin is peeling at the end of the bandage as she pulls softly, feeling the sticky part ripping slightly away from her skin, causing a bit of a stinging feeling. A sigh of relief escapes her lips when it's finally off, and she tosses the remains into a trash.

The wound takes in a fresh breath, tingling in the cool air. There's a smidge of dried-up blood coated on the small bite and it still pulses slightly. Katniss turns on the sink, letting the water run across her hand, washing off the crinkled flakes. After drying her hand and wrapping it in clean bandages, she heads down the hallway to the kitchen. The sound of someone adjusting cans around in the kitchen enters her ears. Whoever it is, it can't be Finnick, because he was still sleeping last she saw him. When she enters, she sees several cans scattered about across the floor with all the cabinets wide open. And inside one of the cabinets, is that large cat, rummaging through the compartment with its big body.

"Get out of there, dumb cat!" Katniss snaps. She waves the animal away wretchedly, not wanting to touch it. Buttercup opens its mouth to let out an indignant hiss and doesn't even attempt to move. "Get out," she says, fed up with its stubbornness. "I don't know what Prim sees in you. You only cause trouble!"

"Why are you shouting…?" Katniss turns to see Finnick in the doorway to the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"This is why," she replies, gesturing toward the mess.

Finnick blinks at the catastrophe. "That cat did this?" he asks.

"There's the culprit." Katniss narrows her eyes at the cat still rummaging through the cabinet. "I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance."

"Don't be so harsh, Mockingjay," Finnick says in amusement, pushing his fingers through his bronze waves.

Mockingjay? Katniss grits her teeth at the nickname. He has no right to call her that and especially now that she's in a bad mood.

"It's just an animal," Finnick goes on, making his way over to the cabinet. Katniss steps to the side to let him by. He reaches into the cabinet, pulling out Buttercup, and holding the devil to his chest. "It doesn't know a better."

"I'm starting to think you don't either…" Katniss mutters under her breath.

"Hm?"

"Never mind."

Finnick sets the cat down and it hurries off as soon as its paws hit the floor. Katniss climbs to her knees and starts to gather up the cans. The District 4 victor kneels in front of her and begins to help pick up the cans.

"We should try and eat something," he says. He doesn't sound like he's suggesting it, more so stating it as a something that's bound to happen. "Before we know it, we'll be dead and that cat will still be here. It survived the bombing, who's to say it won't survive a little starvation?"

"The cat won't starve and I don't want to eat," Katniss murmurs. "I can't stomach food right now."

"I know, but sooner or later you'll have to eat," he says.

"You can, but I won't," she says.

"I'll have to force you then."

"No you won't." What's he going to do? Feed me?

He just chuckles. She glowers at him. He seemed different last night, like a different person, but now he's back to his old arrogant self. She's not sure which she prefers; a weird Finnick or a cocky Finnick.

She reaches for a can with her injured hand without thinking.

Finnick notices instantly. "What happened to your hand?"

Katniss immediately hides her hand under her arm. "It's nothing."

"That's not nothing. What happened to you?" he asks again, reaching for her.

She moves away from his reach. "I told you, it's nothing," she snaps, getting irritated him. Why'd she have to be so careless? She should have made sure her hand was out of sight and blood has started to seep through the bandages. It had started bleeding again without her noticing.

"That's not nothing," Finnick says seriously. "Tell me what happened to you? Did something happen when you were out in the woods? I told you not to go out there alone."

"Nothing happened in the woods," Katniss snaps. "It was…" she hesitates. She can't tell him that a coyote attacked her. If she did, he won't allow her to go out into the woods alone again. Not that she needs his consent, he'll just probably follow her wherever she goes and she doesn't want that. She wouldn't be able to stand 24/7 of arrogance. "The cat. It bit me," she says.

"That cat bit you?" he says in disbelief. "When?"

"This morning," she says. "I was trying to get him out of the cabinet but he took a big chunk right out of my hand." Her hand is throbbing for some reason. It's hurting more than it was the other day. "But it's nothing serious," she adds hastily. That's a lie. She doesn't want him worrying over her or babying her. She stands up, preparing herself to go to her room.

Finnick stands up as well, blocking her path. He gazes at her through narrowed eyes. "Let me look at it."

Katniss shakes her head, backing away from him. "I told you, it's nothing."

His hand darts out and he wraps it around her wrist strongly. She struggles to pull her wrist free, but he's stronger than she is. Eventually she stops struggling and allows him to glance down at her hand, his grip on her still tight. He narrows his eyes at the bandage that's now getting warm with blood.

"How hard did he bite you?"

Katniss shrugs casually, like it's nothing. "It doesn't even hurt anymore."

Finnick loosens his grip on her wrist. "You're going to need to put something on this before it gets infected."

"I don't have any disinfectant…" she murmurs, pulling her wrist away from him.

"You're going to need something."

"It's fine," she nips. "Stop trying to act like you care."

"I do care," he insists. "Now let me help you."

"I can handle it myself," she growls, moving around him and heading to her room. She's glad that Finnick doesn't follow her for once as she swings her room door open. Anger is boiling within her, reminding her of how angry she is with not just Finnick but with everyone who thinks she's the Mockingjay. She's not the Mockingjay. And Finnick only cares about keeping the Mockingjay safe, but not her, not Katniss Everdeen. So how can he say he cares? They aren't even friends. They're nothing to each other. He may as well be a stranger to her. A stranger in her house, telling her what and what not to do. He's not her father.

Even through her anger, she has to admit that Finnick is right. She'll need to put something on her wound before it gets infected. It was fine this morning, and it only started bleeding again for no apparent reason. She must not have been handling her hand carefully enough as she gathered up the can mess. That damn cat, always causing mischief. But she can't blame her wound on the animal though, even if she told Finnick it was Buttercup. Telling him about the coyote would only stir him more to look after her and she doesn't need to be supervised. She's no child. Though when she thinks about it, she is a kid to Finnick. She's seventeen and he's twenty-four. Is that how he sees her? A little girl who doesn't know how to take care of a simple wound?

He's an idiot if he does think of her that way. After all she's been through, she's proved herself more than once that she isn't just a child.

Her hand seems to be thumping, like her heart, as she stands in front of the mirror in her bathroom. She shakily lifts her bandaged hand to her face, where the blood has started to trickle down her arm. The liquid has reached her sleeve and it's soaking it up slightly. She pulls her sleeve up until it reaches close to her shoulder, as she hovers her hand over the sink. Her hand has started to quiver steadily due to the pain and she has to bite her bottom lip to keep from whimpering. She's suffered worst pain than this, so she better start acting like it. There was a time when she got burned in the arena and that pain was nothing compared to this. She almost doesn't want to see how her wound looks underneath the coverings. What if it was infected already?

When she was younger, whenever she got a wound, her mother would help her clean the wound thoroughly with warm water and soap and then she would use 'rubbing alcohol' to keep from infections. Katniss always hated that stuff because it would always cause this unpleasant burning. They would also use snow sometimes, but that was only during the winters. Unfortunately, Katniss can't be sure if there is any rubbing alcohol in here. Her family took almost everything they owned to the house in the Victor's Village and only left behind irrelevant supplies. Then again, she never even looked around this one to see if there was any.

She starts to peel at the bandages, feeling frustrated with herself. Her hand was fine this morning, hardly bleeding. Now it's probably infected and she might have to chop off her hand. She's heard of a few people who couldn't afford to go to the hospital that they would go as far as chopping off their limbs when they had infections. The thought of cutting off her own hand sounds bizarre and unacceptable. She'll need her hand for hunting and operating. There's no way she's cutting it off even if it is infected. She'll have to find another way if that's the case.

The bandage pulls from her hand, the sticky part ripping slightly from her hand. The pain makes her wince. When she takes the bandage all the way off, she throws the bloody wraps into the trash. She examines her hand closely, making sure to hold it over the sink as it still leaks with blood. To know if wounds are infected, it will become red around the area and swollen with pus seeping through. Fortunately for her, she sees no difference in her bite from when she last checked it this morning. Why's it bleeding so much then? Perhaps she knocked it against some hard object causing it to start back up again, breaking off the healing process.

Katniss turns on the water and lets her hand run under the warm fluid. A sigh of relief escapes her lips at the touch of the warmth. As the water washes away the blood, Finnick eventually enters the bathroom holding a small bottle of rubbing alcohol in his hand.

"Where'd you get that?" Katniss asks.

"I found it in one of the bathrooms," he replies, pulling off the cap.

She narrows her eyes at him. She doesn't like the idea of him snooping around her house and she doesn't like the fact that he's trying to help her either.

"I know you don't want my help," Finnick says, echoing her thoughts. She peers at his face. "It's a way of saying thanks for helping me last night when I thought I didn't need it."

Katniss nods, remembering when she scratched his arm the night before. She turns off the nozzle and dabs her hand dry with a cloth. The blood still leaks from her bite but it's only slightly, not as much as before.

Finnick has a cloth of his own and he pours some of the isopropyl onto it, dampening the cotton. "Let's see," he says, gesturing toward her hand. She reluctantly lets him hold her wrist gently. "It'll burn for a moment, so brace yourself."

I know what rubbing alcohol does. She thinks in annoyance. She keeps her thoughts to herself though as Finnick starts to dab lightly at her bite. The stinging, burning sensation comes almost instantly. She grits her teeth to keep herself from making any noise, clenching and unclenching her hand.

"Relax," Finnick says. Then he blows onto her bite for a few moments and the pain slowly starts to ease away. Katniss watches him through narrowed eyes. She doesn't like that she's being helped. He reminds her of her father. Whenever her father applied the rubbing alcohol to her wounds, he would blow on it until the pain went away. Now watching Finnick do it, brings back sad memories for her. Why is he concerning himself with her anyway? They aren't even friends.

After doing the procedure a few more times to ensure there won't be an infection, Finnick starts to help her bandage her wound. "I got it," she says hastily.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, thanks," she says curtly.

"Alright," he says. He heads toward the door but then pauses to say, "I'll be in the kitchen." Then he leaves.

I'll be in the kitchen if you need me; Katniss figures he wanted to say. I won't need you, thanks; she thinks.

She wraps the bandages around her hand firmly, making sure it's tight, but not too tight to squeeze the circulation out of her. When she's satisfied her job is completed, she exits the bathroom, and heads to the kitchen. Finnick's on his knees gathering up the remaining cans the cat spilled. He doesn't look up when she arrives. She starts to help, storing them away into the cabinets as Finnick hands them to her.

"Look," Finnick says, holding up a single can to her. "Your favorite."

She takes the can from him and examines the labels; Lamb Stew. "How'd you know this was my favorite?" she asks him. She doesn't recall ever telling him anything like that.

"During your interview in your first games you told Caesar that it was your favorite meal," he says, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

Katniss snorts. "You have good memory, Odair." Honestly, she wouldn't remember if he ever told Caesar his favorite meal. Perhaps he mentioned it once, at some point, but then again she's sure he's mentioned a lot of things. Things she doesn't even bother to remember. In fact, she can't remember anything good about Finnick, she was so young at the time of his first games – seven to be exact. All she can bring to remembrance is his cockiness and incredibly good looks, nothing about his personal life. Why's he remembering things about her that's not at all important? He must have a brain wired like a computer that stores memories into folders where he can open and take out whenever he wants.

"I like to think I do, if the information appeals to me," Finnick says. There's that arrogance she thought vanished.

"There's nothing interesting about my favorite food," she says.

He moves his shoulders lightly.

"Right," she murmurs. "We'll have lamb stew for breakfast then." She pauses. "Unless you want something else…"

"Hm…" Finnick thinks for a moment. "I'll try the lamb stew. See what you've been talking about."

"You never had it?" Katniss is surprised with him.

"No," he says casually. "The Capitol had many offerings to choose from, many food options, and let's just say that my attention was more drawn to the seafood that was available." He stands up to place some cans into the cabinet. "I hate to admit it, but whatever Capitol chef cooks the food does a swell job."

"They don't cook seafood well in District 4?" she asks. "Isn't that where it's shipped from?"

He nods, handing her another can of lamb stew. "It is, though not everyone has the right ingredients and sides to make the meal perfect," he replies. "I usually prefer the honey coated salmon and catfish above all other fish."

"I never tried those, or any seafood other than red snapper," Katniss says.

"You should," he says. He leans his back against the counter and folds his arms over his chest in a casual manner. "It's really good. It's the way they melt the honey and lather it over the warm, finely cooked salmon that makes it taste scrumptious."

She snorts. "I'm sure it's not as good as you say."

"It is," he insists. And he looks genuinely excited about this.

Maybe attempting to change his mood, isn't the wisest idea. But she doesn't exactly want to create "small talk" with him, but she doesn't really have a choice. They could be here for a long time, they can at least get to know each other.

When she thinks about it, she realizes that she doesn't really know anything about Finnick Odair. For one thing, he has a complex personality. Sometimes he can be arrogant and annoying, and other occasions he can be kind and composed, like this morning and after the crash. He didn't cry or show any emotion at all after that horrific incident. Peculiarly enough, she can't even tell if he's just as hurt and as indifferent as she is. If he's feeling anything, he truly knows how to hide his emotions well. Other than his personality, she doesn't know much, except that his favorite food is salmon and catfish and his preferred weapon is a trident.

That trident was the most expensive gift ever given to a tribute during his games, or any games for that matter. That weapon was the one that kept him alive for the remaining of the games. Katniss remembers seeing him use the trident. He was very skillful at using it, even at such a young age, proficient and scrupulous movements. It was like the instrument was his life, the only thing that pushed him forward and made him continue on. Katniss doesn't really remember much about it, though, or how he was able to use such a weapon so precisely. Now that she knows Finnick use to fish with his dad using a trident, it all makes sense now. No wonder he was able to use it so well.

"Maybe you should take me out to dinner one day when this is over," Katniss murmurs.

Finnick doesn't seem to take notice of her sarcastic tone because he starts to chuckle. "I'm sure you would like that, Everdeen." He throws her a flirtatious wink.

She rolls her eyes at him but then tenses when her stomach rumbles. She clamps a hand over her tummy instantly to sustain it, but it's already too late.

Finnick's smiling at her mischievously. "Someone's hungry."

The embarrassing feeling forms in her belly and with it her cheeks begin to feel warm, turning a light shade of pink. "Because of you," she snaps trying to hide her embarrassment. "I wasn't a moment ago until you started putting thoughts of food in my head."

His smirk only widens. "Then my job is done." He pulls his weight off the table. "I'll start the fireplace." He brushes passed her, exiting the kitchen, leaving her stunned.

Did he just…? She snorts, knowing it's true. Yes, he did. She didn't even realize what was taking place until after it was over. She can't blame him though. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have allowed herself to eat in days. He was helping her for the second time today and she was completely oblivious to it.

She starts to rummage through one of the cabinets as she tries to retract the smile that's beginning to form on her lips.

**~Finnick~**

Thinking about fish reminds Finnick of his father. When he spoke to Katniss about his favorite foods being salmon and catfish, he didn't expect himself to feel those regretful feelings all over again. Just when everything was becoming light and jovial – if calling flirting with Katniss jovial, which is in his book – everything starts to turn upside down. As he rubs his hands together across a stick to get the fire going, he decides that maybe bringing up that topic wasn't the wisest idea. Images of his father rush across his brain; them on the boat fishing, swimming in the ocean, running on the beach, trading goods. Then once the good memories come, the bad ones replace them in only seconds, and Finnick can once again see his father's dying form. Wounded, bloody, and nearly torn to shreds. Finnick can still see himself hovering over his father's body, not even able to recognize his father anymore due to the severe damages of his face and skin.

Then the fire starts brusquely, almost touching Finnick's palm. That brought him back to present world, erasing away all thoughts. He moves his hands away, letting the fire catch onto the partial wood pieces that he inserted into the fireplace. The flames begin to blaze slowly and eventually starts to pick up. Finnick leans back until he's resting on his heels. He didn't realize how cold it was until he felt the heat of the fire. After seeing the figure of his father on his mental screen, he's a bit shaken up. So many emotions twist around inside of him, threatening him with painful knots.

He can remember all too clearly, as if the incident happened yesterday. He broke the news to his mother and one of her close friends. They had just finished shopping at the time and were at home putting away the groceries. He walked into the house, with his father's blood stained on his clothes and all he said to them was, "He's gone." And that was it. That was enough for his mother to collapse to the floor, enough for his mother's friend to cry herself. He didn't cry until after their tears were shed, after the funeral, after he found himself in a place of solitude.

Finnick was out fishing with his father that day, at seventeen, three years after his games. It was just a normal, sunny day. Large fish don't usually come in that area, which made the whole ordeal peculiar. They didn't see the white hump looming in the water toward them, more toward Finnick's father. There was nothing that could have attracted it, neither of them got cut on anything, no reason for the beast of the sea to make itself known. His father was indeed a good swimmer but no man can out swim an animal born to tread the waters. Then Finnick can see the deep shade of red mixing in with the water in a pool. He can hear the screams of his father.

Finnick's hands are clenched in fists resting on his knees, quivering slightly. As much as he tries to push the thoughts away, they keep coming back up. The mind naturally wants to mess with you for reasons that are not obvious. When Katniss enters the living room, he immediately puts on his mask, not wanting her to see that weak side of him. He has become so accustomed to doing that, it's like automatic to turn it off and on.

Katniss doesn't say anything to him as she makes her way toward him, toward the fireplace. She settles onto her knees, holding a pot in her hand. Since the stove isn't working, they'll have to use the fire in the fireplace to cook their food from now on. Finnick smirks at her at their closeness, but she insists on ignoring him, keeping a firm look on her face. She always looks that way when she's concentrating, or trying to pretend he's not there. Usually Finnick would be hurt by this, but after being around her for a while – before the games and during the games and now – he's use to her rejecting him, but that doesn't mean he'll stop pestering her.

Those images continue to appear in Finnick's mind, but he's been living like this for so long, dwelling with negative thoughts, the only way to escape is to pretend to be someone else. That's the only time when he can't be himself. Only when he's someone else his mind goes elsewhere, his mind belongs to someone that's not him. He's this seductive man that he hates himself for. And when he wants to get away from himself, he can't help but be this person. It's only natural for him now, for all this years. For ten years. Ten years wasted on fulfilling Snow's evil, twisted deeds…

The sound of emptying contents enters Finnick's ears. Katniss is pouring the cans' food into the pot. He watches her, deciding she's better to think about than his own thoughts.

When the food heats in the fireplace, they eventually start to smell a wonderful aroma from the food. A loud fit of meowing fills their ears. They turn at the same time to see that large cat called Buttercup entering the room. It lets out another loud meow of desperateness as it brushes against Finnick's leg.

"He smells that food," Finnick chuckles. And that lamb stew does, indeed, smell quite delicious.

Katniss, however, is glaring daggers at the cat. "Too bad," she says unfortunately. "No food for you."

"Don't be that way, Mockingjay," Finnick says. "He's hungry, like you and me. We can let him have some."

"Are you blind?" Katniss asks. "That looks full fed to me." She gestures toward the cat's belly. Finnick only laughs again. They watch as Buttercup inches closer to the fire. Finnick attempts to grab it and pull it away before it burns itself, but Katniss stops him by touching his arm. "Wait. Let's see what happens."

He leans back on his heels as the cat moves closer toward the flames. It pushes its nose close to fire and immediately jerks away, wrinkling its nose. Then it retreats away, nearly bumping into Finnick on its way to the kitchen. Katniss rolls her eyes at the whole scene, at the cat's cluelessness.

"That was ice cold, Katniss," Finnick says, shaking his head, as he stands up. He should go after the cat to see if it's alright.

"Don't go after it," she says. "The stupid thing learned its lesson. Should know better than to play with fire."

"And of course you know everything there is to know about fire, Girl on Fire," he teases. When she scowls, he smiles. "I'll be back." He makes his way into the kitchen where he saw Buttercup disappear to.

Turns out the cat is fine, so he returns back to the living room.

Ultimately Katniss retrieves the pot from the oven, wearing a mitten over her hand as to not burn herself. Finnick holds two bowls out for her and she starts to pour the stew into each of them. Then she goes into the kitchen to put the pot in the sink and returns with two spoons. She hands one to him and he gives her grateful look, which she only nods brusquely to. They sit across from each other; Finnick casually leaning his back against the sofa's leg and Katniss sitting on the rug with her legs crossed over one another. Finnick takes the first spoonful of the lamb stew and he is amazed at the taste. It's actually rather better than he expected, with its tangy taste to it. Scrumptious. But he won't compare it to the salmon and catfish. Nothing beats those meals.

"Do you like it?" Katniss asks him, putting a spoon into her mouth.

He nods his head. "You were right, it is pretty good," he replies. "I should've tried this a long time ago, when I was at the Capitol."

She only nods tersely. He can't tell if she's satisfied with his answer, or even cares if he likes it or not, because her face remains still. Sometimes he wonders why she has to be so terse all the time. She doesn't talk much, not to him that his, and rarely shows her emotions around him. He really doesn't know what he did to make her dislike him. It's probably because of his reputation. She didn't like him from the start, he knew. When he spoke to her at the Opening Ceremony for the first time, she made it clear she wasn't very fond of him, and didn't hesitate to reject the sugar cube offer. It's only on rare occasions when he gets her to laugh, like the other day when he used his Capitol accent and the fence incident. There was also one time in the arena when they actually shared a laugh together when they gave Peeta a scare.

"But it's not better than seafood," Finnick adds.

Katniss rolls her eyes.

"You don't believe me?" he says, feeling a challenge in the air. "I'm willing to change your mind when I take you to District 4 one day. You'll see what I mean."

"If," she says.

"If?"

"If,"

"You're already turning down my offer, that's a shame," he says. "Usually any person would accept my dinner invitations without a second thought, but you…"

"I'm not those other people," Katniss says, glowering at him. "And there's no guarantee we'll be alive for that to happen anyway. We're not going anywhere."

He stares at her for a moment without blinking. Did he say something wrong…again? He was only trying to lighten up the mood and maybe even learn something about her, or get her to say something interesting other than curt words and terse nods. She's impossible. With a sigh, he proceeds to eat his soup, brushing off the matter like so.

It took Finnick a moment to realize that Katniss stopped eating. Her bowl is set on the rug in front of her, hardly even touched, and he notices her bottom lip quivering slightly. Her gray eyes that were once narrowed are now wide and slightly wet.

"Hey, are you alright?" Finnick asks. If he's not mistaken, he thinks she's about to cry.

She blinks her eyes before the tears can fall. "Uh…yes," she says. "I…just can't eat right now…"

"You only had two bites, are you sure?"

She nods slowly, keeping her head low. "I…can't stop thinking about what happened and eating isn't going to do me any good," she says. Her eyes are welling up again.

No. She's about to cry, he thinks. What do I do? Should I hold her again like I did last time when we were at the hovercraft? Then he shakes his head, thinking better of it. She probably doesn't want that. Instead he moves toward her and touches her hand. "I know. I think about it too," he says. "We're going to get through this, Katniss, okay? Don't let this tear you apart."

But she's shaking her head at him, while pulling away her hand. "No…" she says. "You don't know that…" She stands up. "You don't know that." And she walks down the hall before he can stop her. She returns a minute or two later, wearing her hunting boots and holding her bow.

"You're not going out there alone, are you?" Finnick asks her, remembering her hand. How will she be able to use it with her hand in that condition?

"I have to get out of this house for a while," she says, wiping away an invisible tear. "I'm going hunting."

"No you're not," Finnick says, setting down his bowl and standing up. "You can't hunt with that bite on your hand. I think you should stay here at least until it heals."

"No," she says brusquely.

"Katniss." He gives her a serious look.

"Stop trying to control everything that's happening," she snaps. She adjusts her quiver of arrows over her shoulder. "You have no place to do that, or do anything for me at all."

Finnick admits that he was taken aback from that, but he tries not to show it on his face. What was that supposed to mean? He's not trying to control everything. He opens his mouth to say something, defend himself maybe, but Katniss is quick to continue.

"Don't follow me." She's already making her way toward the door. "I need to be alone. And hopefully even you can respect that." With that said, she slams the front door shut, leaving Finnick there befuddled. He doesn't go after her; probably because he's not sure what just happened, his mind is still trying to work around it. She was fine not a moment ago, eating and talking, even though she wasn't being particularly friendly with him during their short meal.

What did he do? Whenever he tries to help her, or cheer her up, she always pushes him away and turn everything into a mess so she can have a reason to be upset again. It's understandable what she's going through. She lost her mentor and being here with someone she despised the moment she met, and that just makes everything that much worse for her. Maybe if he hadn't come off like a insolent douchebag, then maybe she wouldn't be as untrusting toward him as she is now, and she wouldn't have this unchangeable grudge against him. But neither of them knew that they would end up in this situation. They couldn't see the future. Finnick didn't know he'd find himself stranded in the dilapidating District 12 with no one else to talk to but her. To be honest, he thought he would've died in the arena trying to protect her for the rebellion.

He shoves his bowl away, rather more aggressively than he intended, spilling the contents over the crimson red rug. Perfect. One problem following the next. He moves into the kitchen, wets a rag, and returns to the living room to clean the mess. As he attempts to scrub the soup from the rug, his mind travels to all of the people that died in that crash. The people that he spoke with, that he came to know, and some he wasn't even fond of, like Haymitch. He didn't realize how good of a person he was – despite being an alcoholic – until death took him away. And Plutarch Heavensbee and everyone else who was on that hovercraft.

Something wet and salty slips into the corner of Finnick's mouth and he quickly uses the back of his hand to wipe it away before returning to scrubbing. No more wetness comes. He has to be the stronger person here, for as long as it takes, and allowing those depressing feelings to take root will only make him weak. He's the man here and must be strong. Even though Katniss isn't here to see him at his weak point, he still won't feel the same when he looks at her.

There won't be any tears for him today.

**To be continued…**


End file.
